HOME DEPARTMENT

Amazon

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many contracts were awarded by her Department to Amazon in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

James Brokenshire: The Home Department and its agencies did not award any contracts to Amazon in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders: North West

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many anti-social behaviour orders were issued in the North West in each year since 2007.

Jeremy Browne: The number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued at all courts in the North West Region in each year between 2007 and 2011 (the latest year for which data is currently available) is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued(1) at all courts in the North West Region, as reported to the Ministry of Justice(2) by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2011 
			 Area 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 North West(3) 431 385 291 371 252 
			 (1) Includes ASBOs issued on application by magistrates courts acting in their civil capacity and county courts, which were introduced under section 1 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and ASBOs made following conviction for a relevant criminal offence at the Crown Court and at magistrates courts (acting in their criminal capacity), which were introduced under the Police Reform Act 2002. (2) Prior to the creation of the Ministry of Justice on 9 May 2007, numbers of ASBOs issued were reported to Home Office by the Court Service. (3) The North West Region (the former North West Government Office Region as defined by the Office for National Statistics) is comprised of the following police force areas: Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Asylum

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will take steps to make the list of dangerous countries regarding refugee status the same as the list of dangerous countries for British nationals published by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Mark Harper: The UK Border Agency does not maintain a list of dangerous countries regarding refugee status. Each application for international protection is considered on its individual merits taking into account the relevant country situation.
	The agency's Country of Origin Information Service continually monitors the situation in the countries of those nationals who seek protection in the UK, with information provided from a wide range of recognised and respected sources.

Asylum

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate she has made of the cost to her Department of initial asylum decisions being overturned in each year for which figures are available.

Mark Harper: holding answer 17 January 2013
	The UK Border Agency publishes annual asylum performance against 15 key performance measures. The statistics cover the financial year 2011-12 (see link). These show that the quality of initial decisions remains high, the majority of appeals are won by the UK Border Agency, and that average cost of asylum cases is falling;
	Initial decision quality rose from 88% in 2010-11 to 89% in 2011-12;
	appeal win rate roughly stayed the same being 68% in 2010-11 and 67% in 2011/12; and
	the average cost per asylum case (including all initial casework, appeals and any enforcement actions) fell from £15,415 in 2010-11 to £15,215 in 2011-12;
	http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/further-key-data/
	We are unable to provide more specific information regarding the costs associated to overturned initial decisions as such statistics are not held in a format that is compatible with National Statistics Protocols.

Crime

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will give consideration to changing the classification of crimes, other than the crime of domestic violence, where an amicable agreement has been reached between the victim and the accused and where the police decide to take no further action, from classification as unsolved to another classification.

Damian Green: The Government has recently consulted publicly on a new framework for recording and classifying crime outcomes. That consultation ended on 7 December. Once the responses are analysed, the Government will publish a full response.

Crime Prevention

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes have been made to the Community Safety Fund 2013-14 from (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13 allocations for each of the police force areas across England and Wales in addition to the police finance settlement for 2013-14; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: The Community Safety Fund is a new funding stream for police and crime commissioners for 2013-14 only, totalling £90 million. It cannot be compared directly with Home Office community safety funding in previous years, which was paid to local authorities via the Department for Communities and Local Government's Area Based Grant. That funding totalled £59,299,999 and £30,000,010 in 2011-12 and 2012-13 respectively, and a breakdown of the amounts paid to individual local authorities is provided in the following tables. That funding stream will cease at the end of this financial year.
	
		
			 Community Safety Funding—England (paid via Area Based Grant) 
			 £ 
			  2010-11—Baseline CSF 2011-12—Allocation CSF 2012-13—Indicative allocation 
			 Barking and Dagenham London Borough 293,291 0 0 
			 Barnet London Borough 401,738 0 0 
			 Bexley London Borough 287,603 0 0 
			 Brent London Borough 443,346 0 0 
			 Bromley London Borough 351,883 0 0 
			 Camden London Borough 505,774 0 0 
			 City of London 109,685 0 0 
			 Croydon London Borough 450,681 0 0 
			 Ealing London Borough 544,901 0 0 
			 Enfield London Borough 392,522 0 0 
			 Greenwich London Borough 400,528 0 0 
			 Hackney London Borough 613,147 0 0 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough 368,310 0 0 
			 Haringey London Borough 517,309 0 0 
			 Harrow London Borough 275,076 0 0 
			 Havering London Borough 276,032 0 0 
			 Hillingdon London Borough 355,941 0 0 
			 Hounslow London Borough 360,956 0 0 
			 Islington London Borough 510,937 0 0 
			 Kensington and Chelsea Royal Borough 337,332 0 0 
			 Kingston upon Thames Royal Borough 204,506 0 0 
			 Lambeth London Borough 691,701 0 0 
			 Lewisham London Borough 452,249 0 0 
			 London Borough of Richmond upon Thames 229,876 0 0 
			 Merton London Borough 257,168 0 0 
			 Newham London Borough 593,835 0 0 
			 Redbridge London Borough 345,118 0 0 
			 Southwark London Borough 593,305 0 0 
			 Sutton London Borough 237,345 0 0 
			 Tower Hamlets London Borough 579,306 0 0 
			 Waltham Forest London Borough 424,150 0 0 
			 Wandsworth London Borough 485,027 0 0 
			 Westminster City Council 478,222 0 0 
			 Greater London Authority 0 10,664,462 5,395,174 
			 London sub total 13,368,800 10,664,462 5,395,174 
			     
			 Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council 294,545 234,962 118,868 
			 Bath and North East Somerset Council 214,341 170,983 86,500 
			 Bedford UA 187,037 149,202 75,482 
			 Birmingham City Council 1,551,843 1,237,925 626,269 
			 Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council 235,298 187,700 94,958 
			 Blackpool Borough Council 237,448 189,415 95,826 
			 Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council 488,427 389,624 197,112 
			 Borough of Poole 200,635 160,049 80,969 
			 Bournemouth Borough Council 251,986 201,012 101,693 
			 Bracknell Forest Borough Council 172,504 137,609 69,617 
			 Brighton and Hove Council 354,756 282,993 143,167 
			 Bristol Council 747,343 596,165 301,601 
			 Buckinghamshire County Council 597,763 476,843 241,236 
			 Bury Metropolitan Borough Council 303,732 242,291 122,575 
			 Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council 351,259 280,204 141,756 
			 Cambridgeshire County Council 631,301 503,597 254,771 
			 Central Bedfordshire UA 291,420 232,469 117,607 
			 Cheshire East UA 365,617 291,657 147,550 
			 Cheshire West and Chester UA 384,498 306,719 155,170 
		
	
	
		
			 City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council 764,090 609,524 308,360 
			 City of York Council 241,760 192,855 97,566 
			 Cornwall County UA 642,525 512,550 259,300 
			 County of Herefordshire District Council 198,162 158,076 79,971 
			 Coventry City Council 457,052 364,596 184,450 
			 Cumbria County Council 628,835 501,630 253,776 
			 Darlington Borough Council 185,546 148,012 74,880 
			 Derby City Council 338,858 270,311 136,751 
			 Derbyshire County Council 922,637 735,999 372,344 
			 Devon County Council 834,518 665,706 336,782 
			 Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council 372,057 296,795 150,149 
			 Dorset County Council 545,813 435,402 220,271 
			 Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council 378,932 302,279 152,924 
			 Durham County UA 719,150 573,675 290,223 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire Council 283,547 226,189 114,430 
			 East Sussex County Council 683,672 545,374 275,906 
			 Essex County Council 1,397,947 1,115,160 564,162 
			 Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council 288,624 230,239 116,478 
			 Gloucestershire County Council 736,164 587,247 297,090 
			 Halton Borough Council 199,112 158,834 80,355 
			 Hampshire County Council 1,297,406 1,034,957 523,587 
			 Hartlepool Council 195,547 155,990 78,916 
			 Hertfordshire County Council 1,243,594 992,031 501,871 
			 Isle of Wight Council 173,202 138,165 69,898 
			 Isles of Scilly Council 45,024 35,916 18,170 
			 Kent County Council 1,562,499 1,246,425 630,569 
			 Kingston Upon Hull City Council 552,659 440,863 223,034 
			 Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council 488,814 389,933 197,268 
			 Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council 270,289 215,613 109,079 
			 Lancashire County Council 1,440,849 1,149,384 581,476 
			 Leeds City Council 1,186,867 946,779 478,978 
			 Leicester City Council 457,363 364,844 184,576 
			 Leicestershire County Council 774,282 617,655 312,473 
			 Lincolnshire County Council 776,462 619,394 313,353 
			 Liverpool City Council 852,956 680,414 344,223 
			 Luton Borough Council 310,903 248,011 125,469 
			 Manchester City Council 1,029,287 821,075 415,384 
			 Medway Borough Council 293,308 233,976 118,369 
			 Middlesbrough Borough 400,396 319,401 161,586 
			 Milton Keynes Council 283,281 225,977 114,322 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne Metropolitan District Council 372,634 297,255 150,382 
			 Norfolk County Council 900,728 718,522 363,502 
			 North East Lincolnshire Council 279,228 222,744 112,687 
			 North Lincolnshire Council 217,122 173,201 87,623 
			 North Somerset Council 240,727 192,031 97,149 
			 North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council 247,297 197,272 99,800 
			 North Yorkshire County Council 683,435 545,185 275,810 
			 Northamptonshire County Council 874,019 697,216 352,723 
			 Northumberland County UA 495,283 395,094 199,879 
			 Nottingham City Council 636,992 508,137 257,067 
			 Nottinghamshire County Council 972,507 775,781 392,469 
			 Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council 369,153 294,478 148,977 
			 Oxfordshire County Council 710,651 566,895 286,794 
			 Peterborough City Council 287,557 229,388 116,048 
			 Plymouth City Council 336,146 268,148 135,657 
			 Portsmouth City Council 279,526 222,981 112,807 
			 Reading Borough Council 356,912 284,713 144,037 
			 Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council 211,791 168,948 85,471 
			 Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council 447,006 356,582 180,396 
			 Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council 313,173 249,822 126,386 
			 Rutland County Council District Council 114,231 91,124 46,100 
			 Salford Metropolitan District Council 507,934 405,185 204,984 
		
	
	
		
			 Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council 457,672 365,091 184,700 
			 Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council 324,607 258,943 131,000 
			 Sheffield City Council 634,541 506,181 256,078 
			 Shropshire County UA 432,348 344,889 174,480 
			 Slough Borough Council 267,186 213,138 107,827 
			 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council 294,859 235,213 118,995 
			 Somerset County Council 618,285 493,214 249,518 
			 South Gloucestershire Council 270,711 215,950 109,249 
			 South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council 240,690 192,001 97,134 
			 Southampton City Council 312,205 249,050 125,995 
			 Southend-on-Sea Borough Council 239,200 190,813 96,533 
			 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council 264,891 211,307 106,901 
			 Staffordshire County Council 992,496 791,727 400,536 
			 Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council 411,850 328,538 166,208 
			 Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council 254,405 202,942 102,669 
			 Stoke-on-Trent City Council 375,712 299,710 151,624 
			 Suffolk County Council 775,980 619,009 313,158 
			 Sunderland City Council 390,260 311,315 157,495 
			 Surrey County Council 1,181,592 942,571 476,849 
			 Swindon Borough Council 221,699 176,852 89,470 
			 Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council 346,436 276,356 139,809 
			 Telford and Wrekin Council 230,449 183,832 93,001 
			 Thurrock Council 219,072 174,757 88,410 
			 Torbay Borough Council 205,624 164,029 82,983 
			 Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council 339,278 270,646 136,921 
			 Wakefield Metropolitan District Council 380,624 303,629 153,606 
			 Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council 375,948 299,898 151,719 
			 Warrington Borough Council 235,924 188,200 95,211 
			 Warwickshire County Council 631,344 503,631 254,788 
			 West Berkshire District Council 184,221 146,955 74,345 
			 West Sussex County Council 873,339 696,674 352,449 
			 Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council 388,200 309,672 156,664 
			 Wiltshire County UA 455,595 363,434 183,862 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead Royal Borough Council 227,355 181,364 91,752 
			 Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council 390,224 311,287 157,481 
			 Wokingham District Council 187,352 149,453 75,609 
			 Wolverhampton Metropolitan Borough Council 390,149 311,227 157,450 
			 Worcestershire County Council 682,374 544,338 275,382 
			     
			 England (excluding London) sub total 57,874,491 46,167,213 23,356,105 
			 England (including London) sub total 71,243,291 56,831,675 28,751,279 
		
	
	
		
			 Community Safety Funding—Wales (paid as un-ring-fenced grant) 
			 £ 
			  2010-11—Baseline CSF 2011-12—Allocation CSF 2012-13—Indicative allocation 
			 Blaenau Gwent 111,419 88,880 44,965 
			 Bridgend 139,059 110,929 56,119 
			 Caerphilly 177,867 141,887 71,781 
			 Cardiff 369,172 294,493 148,985 
			 Carmarthenshire 120,885 96,432 48,785 
			 Ceredigion 71,565 57,088 28,881 
			 Conwy 105,039 83,791 42,390 
			 Denbighshire 106,194 84,712 42,856 
			 Flintshire 123,203 98,281 49,720 
			 Gwynedd 99,946 79,728 40,335 
			 Isle of Anglesey 75,866 60,520 30,617 
			 Merthyr Tydfil 102,011 81,375 41,168 
			 Monmouthshire 97,708 77,943 39,431 
			 Neath Port Talbot 147,934 118,009 59,701 
			 Newport 173,613 138,493 70,064 
			 Pembrokeshire 90,370 72,089 36,470 
		
	
	
		
			 Powys 93,927 74,927 37,906 
			 Rhondda Cynon Taff 204,054 162,776 82,349 
			 Swansea 298,479 238,101 120,456 
			 Torfaen 108,858 86,837 43,931 
			 Vale of Glamorgan 139,917 111,614 56,466 
			 Wrexham 137,166 109,419 55,355 
			 Sub total 3,094,250 2,468,324 1,248,731 
			     
			 Grand total 74,337,541 59,299,999 30,000,010 
			     
			 Percentage of 2010-11 baseline 100 80 40

Crime Prevention: Liverpool

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to combat (a) knife, (b) gun, (c) drug and (d) trafficking crime in Liverpool; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: holding answer 18 January 2013
	The police and crime commissioner and the chief constable for Merseyside are responsible for action taken to combat crime. At a national level, the Government has taken steps to ensure a robust response to all serious crime and has published strategies on .gang and youth violence, drugs and human trafficking.

Dell

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many contracts were awarded by her Department to Dell CSC in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

James Brokenshire: The Home Department and its agencies did not award any contracts to Dell CSC in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Departmental Responsibilities

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her Department's top three policy implementation (a) successes and (b) failures have been since May 2010.

James Brokenshire: The policy implementation priorities of the Home Office can be found in the Department's Structural Reform Plan, progress against which is reported on the Government's Business Plan Website at:
	http://transparency.number10.gov.uk/business-plan/5
	A broader look at implementation progress can be found in the Government's mid-term review document at:
	http://midtermreview.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/
	published on 7 January 2013 and the Programme for Government Update at:
	http://midtermreview.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/programme-for-government-update/
	published on 9 January 2013.

Deportation

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many deportation charter flights were cancelled in each year since 2008; and what the cost to the public purse was of such cancellations in each year.

Mark Harper: The number of flights cancelled since 2008 and the cost to the public purse of cancelling those flights are set out in the table. The UK Border Agency (UKBA) relies upon a competitive market place each time it charters an aircraft. If UKBA provided detailed information about individual flights or annual cancellation costs, it would be possible to reach a conclusion about the cost of individual flights, which is commercially sensitive information.
	
		
			 Flights cancelled 
			  Number/Cost (£) 
			 2008 3 
			 2009 3 
			 2010 1 
			 2011 2 
			 2012 1 
			 Total 10 
			   
			 Total cancellation cost 701,317 
		
	
	Figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information. They are therefore provisional and subject to change.

Deportation: Children

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to ensure that no unaccompanied minors are sent back to dangerous countries as a result of an inaccurate assessment.

Mark Harper: The UK Border Agency does not enforce the return of unaccompanied children whose claims for international protection have been refused, unless adequate care and reception arrangements are in place in their countries of origin. The agency's Country of Origin Information Service provides information on the situation in the countries of those unaccompanied children who seek protection in the UK, using a wide range of recognised and respected sources. Decision makers have access to this information and each application for international protection is considered on its individual merits, taking into account the relevant country situation.

Detainees

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to improve conditions for those in detention centres.

Mark Harper: The continuing improvement of conditions in immigration removal centres is achieved through the service improvement and action plans drawn up in response to the recommendations in reports from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons and the Independent Monitoring Boards. These plans are regularly reviewed to ensure action is taken.
	The UK Border Agency also operates a comprehensive complaints system for detainees who feel that they have not been treated in accordance with the Detention Centre Rules 2001 and the Operating Standards for Immigration Removal Centres. In all instances the complainant, and/or his representative receives a response to their complaint which details the inquiries made and includes findings and conclusions with recommendations to address any substantiated finding. Recommendations for the UK Border Agency following a complainant appeal to the prison and probation ombudsman are addressed as part of a local action plan.

Detention Centres: Radio

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether refugees and asylum seekers held in detention centres have access to (a) public radio stations and (b) Refugee Radio.

Mark Harper: holding answer 15 January 2013
	All individuals who are held in immigration removal centres can access public radio stations, of which Refugee Radio is one, through personal radios or through the facilities provided at centres.

Entry Clearances

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the potential risks in returning documents to third party registered visa agencies which have since gone out of business.

Mark Harper: Applicants can request that their documents be sent to third party agencies at their own risk. The UK Border Agency does not have access to a record of which such agencies have gone out of business.

Entry Clearances

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many visa agencies are registered with the Office of Immigration Services Commissioner.

Mark Harper: The type of organisations that the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) regulates varies widely from small community-based organisations and sole traders through to national charities and large specialist profit-making advisory services. The OISC regulates immigration advisers in order to ensure that those who provide immigration advice and services are competent to do so. Not for profit organisations are exempted from paying a registration fee.
	As at 31 December 2012, the. OISC regulated 1,956 organisations authorised to provide immigration advices and services. This total was made up of 1,089 for profit organisations, which charged their client for services and described as “registered”, and 867 not for profit organisations, which made no charge to the client and are described as “exempt”.

Entry Clearances

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what steps she is taking to ensure that there is sufficient manpower to deal with visa extensions following the backlog after the Christmas period;
	(2)  what recent progress has been made by her Department in reducing delays to processing extensions to ancestry visas.

Mark Harper: The UK Border Agency has recruited several hundred additional temporary staff to reduce waiting times.
	The Agency is also reviewing processes so as to deliver improved performance. By the end of the financial year, customers applying to remain in the UK, including those who wish to remain under the UK ancestry arrangements, should receive a decision on their application within the published service standards.

Entry Clearances: Business

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make it her policy to fasttrack visas to people seeking to come to the UK to participate in inward trade and business delegations.

Mark Harper: Many of the Visa Application Centres worldwide, run by the UK Border Agency's commercial partners, offer a priority visa service. This includes many major trading partners like USA, India, China, Gulf states and South Africa. Under the priority service, applicants pay an additional fee for faster consideration of their application, usually within three to five days. This service does not imply or guarantee in any way that applicants will be successful in their visa application. All visa applicants must meet the requirements of the UK Immigration Rules.
	Full information about the availability of the priority service can be found on the UK Border Agency's website at:
	www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  whether out-of-country student visa interviews will be conducted after students have been awarded a Conditional Acceptance of Study from a UK institution;
	(2)  what estimate her Department has made of the additional costs of increasing the number of international students interviewed;
	(3)  what additional resources will be made available to the UK Border Agency to provide for additional out-of-country student visa interviews in (a) 2013, (b) 2014 and (c) 2015;
	(4)  how the UK Border Agency (UKBA) will assess the quality of staff and contractors recruited to undertake out-of-country student visa interviews; what training will be provided to such staff and contractors; and how her Department and UKBA will evaluate the outcomes;
	(5)  which (a) countries and (b) regions of countries her Department intends to target for out-of-country student visa interviews;
	(6)  who will conduct her Department's proposed out-of-country student visa interviews; and how appropriate (a) staff and (b) contractors will be appointed by the UK Border Agency;
	(7)  what estimate she has made of the number of additional out-of-country interviews of students applying for visas to study at UK institutions which will be undertaken in (a) 2013, (b) 2014 and (c) 2015.

Mark Harper: The UK Border Agency (UKBA) will increase the number of interviews to more than 100,000 starting in FY 2013-14. The ambition is to interview the majority of tier 4 applicants out-of-country. In subsequent years, UKBA will extend the interviewing programme in line with the evidence base.
	Interviews for tier 4 students will take place after they have submitted a visa application, and as part of the application process tier 4 students will need a valid Conditional Acceptance of Study (CAS).
	Detailed planning is under way within UKBA to estimate the costs of the interviewing programme and the additional resources and officers required.
	UKBA expects to meet these requirements from within existing departmental resources in FY 2013-14.
	Detailed planning is under way within UKBA to quality assure the interviewing programme and the training requirement. Appropriate quality assurance measures will be maintained for interviewing, and additional training and guidance will be provided to staff, where necessary.
	UKBA will continue to keep operations, including the interviewing programme, under review.

Entry Clearances: Russia

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she plans to make changes to the visa regime for Russia on the same basis as the changes recently announced to the visa regime for China.

Mark Harper: The UK Border Agency is constantly looking for opportunities to further develop the visa service in light of customer feedback. The UK Border Agency is in the process of consulting with customers in Russia through the Moscow and St Petersburg UK Border Agency user panels and through round table discussions held with stakeholders, most recently tour operators and Visit Britain, to understand what improvements they would like to see. The UK Border Agency also proactively works with the Russian authorities to improve the operational delivery of the visa regime for Russian nationals wishing to come to the UK as well as for British nationals wishing to travel to Russia.

Extradition

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to publish proposals for reforming the UK's extradition arrangements.

Mark Harper: On 16 October 2012, Official Report, columns 164-80, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), announced the Government's response to the Baker review on extradition. The Government is seeking to make these amendments as soon as parliamentary time allows.
	With regard to the European Arrest Warrant (EAW), the Government is discussing options for improving the operation of the EAW with other EU member states.

Google

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many contracts were awarded by her Department to Google in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

James Brokenshire: The Home Department and its agencies did not award any contracts to Google in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Immigration: Children

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children living in the UK without immigration status were abandoned in the UK by their parents, by country of origin, in the latest period for which figures are available.

Mark Harper: The Government do not hold this information.

Legal Opinion: Treaties

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has received any representations that the Crown Prosecution Services's role in processing requests under the UK's mutual legal assistance treaties causes delay in the operation of that treaty system.

Mark Harper: holding answer 18 January 2013
	The Home Office is responsible for Mutual Legal Assistance ('MLA'). It is not aware of any such representations.

Members: Correspondence

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the UK Border Agency plans to respond to the letters of (a) 28 September 2012 and (b) 7 December 2012 from the hon. Member for Harrow West regarding Mr Al Shamri.

Mark Harper: The UK Border Agency replied to the hon. Member on 17 January 2013.

Mobile Phones

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which companies supply (a) mobile telephones and (b) mobile data services to her Department.

James Brokenshire: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 29 October 2012, Official Report, column 73W.

Oracle Corporation UK

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many contracts were awarded by her Department to Oracle in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

James Brokenshire: The Home Department and its agencies did not award any contracts to Oracle in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Police

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of police forces' workforce demographic and the potential effect on (a) the ability of police forces to replace officers due to retire, (b) the ability of front-line police officers to carry out their tasks and (c) future crime reduction and public safety in (i) police force areas in England and (ii) Cleveland police.

Damian Green: Police recruitment is a matter for individual forces and it is for chief constables and police and crime commissioners to ensure they have the right mix of officers. It is not unexpected that there would be some change in the overall make-up of the police work force as forces, like other public services, make their contribution to reducing the budget deficit. This would apply to all forces in England and Wales, including Cleveland.
	There is no question that police forces are still able to carry out their important work. The independent inspectorate of constabulary has found that forces are maintaining services to the public and most recent statistics show that police recorded crime has fallen 10% since June 2010.
	Police officers are trained to the same standards regardless of age and the Home Secretary has agreed with Tom Winsor's proposals on annual fitness testing. This will be a much better indication of whether an individual is capable of carrying out the physical demands of being a police officer than age.

Porton Down

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answers of 13 December 2012, Official Report, column 423W and 7 January 2013, Official Report, column 46W, on Porton Down, on how many occasions the Animal Procedures Committee has made direct visits to the DSTL Porton Down site in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: No visits were made by the Animal Procedures Committee (APC) to the DSTL Porton Down site in 2010, 2011 or 2012.

Symantec

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many contracts were awarded by her Department to Symantec in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

James Brokenshire: The Home Department and its agencies did not award any contracts to Symantec in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Vacancies

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her Department's vacancy rate was in 2011-12; and what the estimated vacancy rate is for 2012-13.

James Brokenshire: Vacancy rates are not calculated centrally but they are considered as part of local business and workforce planning processes. Therefore the Department's vacancy rate in 2011-12 and an estimate for 2012-13 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Xerox Corporation

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many contracts were awarded by her Department to Xerox in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

James Brokenshire: The Home Department and its agencies did not award any contracts to Xerox in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

EDUCATION

Truancy

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to reduce truancy in schools.

Elizabeth Truss: The Government agreed Charlie Taylor's recommendation to tackle truancy by improving pupils' overall attendance, and by focusing in primary schools to tackle poor attendance early.
	And we have uprated the penalty fines for parents who shirk their responsibility to ensure their children attend school.

Apprenticeships

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to promote and expand apprenticeships.

Michael Gove: Last year we asked Doug Richard to lead an independent review into apprenticeships. His report, published in November, underlined the importance of improving quality and raising standards in apprenticeships. He recommended that apprenticeships should be redefined so that they are targeted only at those who are new to a job or role that requires sustained and substantial training, that there should be greater focus on the outcome of an apprenticeship, that recognised industry standards, should form the basis of every apprenticeships, and that Government funding should create the right incentives for apprenticeship training'. We warmly welcome his report and we will respond in due course.

Teacher Training

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of his Department's measures to improve teacher training.

Michael Gove: A high quality teacher in every classroom is essential for raising standards in schools. Our strategy to recruit the best graduates to train as teachers and move to a school-led system of training, has led to 71% of teacher trainees with a 1(st) class or a 2:1 degree starting teacher training this year. This is the highest proportion recorded.

Parenting Skills

George Eustice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to improve parenting skills of parents with children under the age of three.

Edward Timpson: Through the CANparent Trial, from April 2012 to March 2014 the Department is offering vouchers in three areas for a course of parenting classes to all parents of children aged 0 to five. The trial aims to stimulate a wider market in high quality parenting classes, so that in the long term any parent can choose to access a course of classes to improve their parenting skills.

School Funding

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of school budgets will be allocated directly to schools under the new national schools funding formula.

David Laws: We have committed to introducing a national funding formula during the next spending review period. Decisions have not yet been made about the design or operation of a future national funding formula and so I cannot confirm the precise proportion of funding that will be allocated directly to schools. However, we want to devolve as much funding as possible directly to schools.

Academies: Free School Meals

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether 16 to 19 academies are required by his Department to provide free school meals to eligible students; and whether his Department provides funding for such academies to do so.

David Laws: holding answer 16 January 2013
	Academies are required to comply with free school meal legislation via their funding agreements and therefore have to provide free school meals to those of their pupils who are eligible. 16 to 19 academies and 16 to 19 free schools are not classified in law in the same way as 11 to 18 academies or schools, in that they are not “schools” but are “educational institutions”. They are treated in a similar manner to sixth form colleges under legislation and are not required to provide free school meals, but they may do so.
	Like all other schools, academies do not receive specific funding for post-16 free school meals but are expected to fund them from their overall budgets.

Cabinet

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of meetings of the Cabinet he has attended in the last 12 months.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 17 January 2013
	The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), attended 31 out of 34 Cabinet meetings in the last 12 months.

Christmas

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he held a private ministerial office Christmas party in 2012; and if he will publish the cost of any such party held.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 17 January 2013
	The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), attended a Christmas dinner with members of his private office in 2012. The costs were covered by those who attended.

Financial Services: Education

Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether Ofsted holds any evidence on the effect of financial education in schools.

David Laws: This question is a matter for Ofsted. HM chief inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, has written to my hon. Friend, and a copy of his response has been placed in the House Libraries.
	Letter from Sir Michael Wilshaw, dated 15 January 2013
	Your recent Parliamentary Question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, for response.
	Ofsted carries out school inspections under section 5 of the Education Act 2005, and more recently the Education Act 2011. There is no specific judgement in routine inspections about the quality of financial education in schools, or separate assessment of how financially capable young people are. However, financial education has been reported on as part of Ofsted’s programme of subject survey reports.
	The most recent report that included evidence about the provision for financial education was Ofsted’s survey report “Economics, business and enterprise education”, published in June 2011. In 2008, evidence form a more focused survey of good practice in relation to financial education was published in “Developing financially capable young people”. Financial education was also reported on in Ofsted’s 2010 survey of personal, social health and economic education (PSHEE). All of these reports are available at
	www.ofsted.gov.uk
	and Ofsted will be publishing another report on PSHEE later this year.
	A copy of this report has been sent to David Laws MP, Minister of State for Schools and will be placed in the library of both Houses.

Financial Services: Education

Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he proposes that England will be a signatory to the OECD PISA 2015 Financial Literacy Assessment.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department is considering the costs and benefits of England's participation in the optional components of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's PISA 2015 study, including the assessment of financial literacy. The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), will take a decision shortly.

GCSE

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 12 November 2012, Official Report, columns 49-50W, on GCSE, how many pupils in each category were (a) of each ethnic group, (b) eligible for free school meals, (c) of each gender, (d) in care, (e) attending each type of school, (f) in each local authority, (g) in each ward, (h) in each lower layer super output area and (i) in each school.

Elizabeth Truss: The table provides 2011 statistics on pupils with no statement of special educational needs not achieving grades A* to C in English, mathematics and either English or mathematics GCSE at the end of Key Stage 4. As requested breakdowns have been provided for pupils.
	of each ethnic group
	eligible for free school meals
	of each gender
	in care
	attending each type of school.
	It is not possible to provide the following breakdowns without incurring disproportionate costs:
	in each local authority
	in each ward
	in each lower layer super output area
	in each school.
	Provided as follows are details of statistics which the Department publishes which my hon. Friend may find helpful.
	Local authority
	Attainment data for 2011 for pupils with special educational needs at local authority level can be found in Table 6 in the publication DFE: GCSE and Equivalent Attainment by Pupil Characteristics.
	Ward
	A range of local area education statistics are published on the Department's In Your Area Website. Ward level data showing GCSE and equivalent results can be found by following the link. Data is also available on numbers of pupils with special educational needs at ward level. Attainment statistics are not provided for those with special educational needs at ward level. DFE, In Your Area:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/inyourarea/
	Lower layer super output area
	A number of achievement indicators for pupils at Key Stage 4 are published at lower layer super output area level for 2011. These can be found by following the link and clicking on topics:
	http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/
	School
	The Secondary School Performance Tables provide a wide range of performance information for schools; this includes the percentage of pupils in each school achieving A*~C in English and mathematics GCSE or equivalent (including breaking this down for disadvantaged and other pupils), this information for 2011 can be found on our website here:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/cgi-bin/schools/performance/group.pl?qtype=NAT&superview=swc&view=aat&set=4%sort =&ord =&tab=72&no=999&pg=1
	Different school types can be identified using the “Filters” option, selecting “Type of institution” and ticking the appropriate boxes.
	Information on the characteristics of pupils in each secondary school is available on our website here:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/cgi-bin/schools/performance/group.pl?qtype=NAT&superview=sec&view=cqs&set=1&sort &ord =&tab=33&no=999&pg=1
	
		
			 National performance of pupils(1) with no statements of special educational needs(2) not achieving GCSE A* to C in English and/or mathematics at the end of Key Stage 4, year 2010/11 (Final), coverage England (state-funded mainstream schools only) 
			  Number of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 with no statement of SEN 
			 Total number of pupils 545,610 
			 Of which:  
			 Did not achieve A* to C in English 156,085 
			 Of which:  
			 eligible for FSM 36,467 
			 looked after for at least 6 months between the ages of 4 and 15(3) 2,069 
			 boys 95,524 
			 girls 60,561 
			 white 127,513 
			 mixed 4,804 
			 Asian 11,664 
			 Black 7,528 
			 Chinese 415 
			 other 2,491 
			 unclassified ethnicity 1,670 
			 in City Technology Colleges 21 
			 in Community Schools 72,976 
			 in Converter Academies 652 
			 in Foundation Schools 45,564 
			 in Sponsored Academies 15,746 
			 in Voluntary Aided Schools 16,822 
			 in Voluntary Controlled Schools 4,304 
			   
			 Did not achieve A* to C in mathematics 178,977 
			 Of which:  
			 eligible for FSM 39,758 
			 looked after for at least 6 months between the ages of 4 and 15(3) 2,178 
			 boys 88,565 
		
	
	
		
			 girls 90,412 
			 white 147,969 
			 mixed 6,024 
			 Asian 11,799 
			 Black 8,874 
			 Chinese 142 
			 other 2,239 
			 unclassified ethnicity 1,930 
			 in City Technology Colleges 64 
			 in Community Schools 83,113 
			 in Converter Academies 889 
			 in Foundation Schools 51,694 
			 in Sponsored Academies 17,717 
			 in Voluntary Aided Schools 20,764 
			 in Voluntary Controlled Schools 4,736 
			   
			 Did not achieve A* to C in both English and mathematics 120,248 
			 Of which:  
			 eligible for FSM 30,638 
			 looked after for at least 6 months between the ages of 4 and 15(3) 1,808 
			 boys 68,762 
			 girls 51,486 
			 white 99,378 
			 mixed 3,759 
			 Asian 8,187 
			 Black 5,741 
			 Chinese 101 
			 other 1,754 
			 unclassified ethnicity 1,328 
			 in City Technology Colleges 15 
			 in Community Schools 56,402 
			 in Converter Academies 479 
			 in Foundation Schools 34,871 
			 in Sponsored Academies 12,746 
		
	
	
		
			 in Voluntary Aided Schools 12,569 
			 in Voluntary Controlled Schools 3,166 
			 (1) Includes attempts and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years. (2) Pupils with no statement of SEN include; School Action, School Action+, no identified SEN and unclassified pupils. (3) Pupils in all settings who at some point in the year to 31 March 2011 were looked after and had been looked after continuously for at least six months (note that this does not necessarily need to all be during that year). Includes pupils aged four to 15 on 31 August 2010 as collected on the 2010-11 Looked after Children Return from Local Authorities (SSDA903). Source: 2011 Secondary School Performance Tables data (post-errata)

GCSE

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) girls and (b) boys in each (i) local authority and (ii) ward who did not have statements of special educational needs did not achieve a single A* to C grade at GCSE in the latest year for which figures are available; and how many such pupils were (A) in each ethnic group, (B) eligible for free school meals, (C) in care and (D) had a first language other than English.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 10 January 2013
	The following table provides local authority information for pupils who did not have a statement of special educational needs and did not achieve a single A* to C grade at GCSE in 2011. Breakdowns by gender are provided for pupils:
	eligible for free school meals
	in care
	who had a first language other than English.
	To provide this information by ethnicity would introduce disproportionate cost, it is also likely that including ethnicity breakdowns as requested for any ethnic grouping other than white would result in significant suppression of the data.
	Likewise, providing this information at ward level would introduce disproportionate cost and a significant number of the breakdowns requested would require multiple suppressions.
	A range of local area education statistics are published on the Department's ‘In Your Area’ website which you may find helpful. Ward level data on GCSE results can be found following the link:
	www.education.gov.uk/inyourarea/
	
		
			 Number of pupils(1) with no statements of special educational needs(2) who did not achieve at least 1 A*-C grade at GCSE (including equivalents) at the end of Key Stage 4 by pupil characteristics, local authority and region, 2010/11 (final), coverage: England (state-funded mainstream schools only) 
			   Number of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 with no statements of SEN not achieving at least 1 GCSE A* to C Number of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 with no statements of SEN and eligible for free school meals not achieving at least 1 GCSE A* to C 
			 Region/Local Authority LA/Region number Males Females Total Males Females Total 
			 ENGLAND (State-funded sector)(3, 4) E92000001 13,314 9,269 22,583 3,718 3,050 6,768 
			         
			 NORTH EAST E12000001 612 386 998 238 154 392 
			         
			 County Durham E06000047 85 32 117 38 12 50 
			 Darlington E06000005 10 8 18 3 (5)— (5)— 
			 Gateshead E08000020 28 26 54 10 10 20 
			 Hartlepool E06000001 64 29 93 26 15 41 
		
	
	
		
			 Middlesbrough E06000002 48 49 97 31 28 59 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne E08000021 51 39 90 20 15 35 
			 North Tyneside E08000022 39 29 68 12 8 20 
			 Northumberland E06000048 94 63 157 23 16 39 
			 Redcar and Cleveland E06000003 35 25 60 12 8 20 
			 South Tyneside E08000023 16 13 29 8 (5)— (5)— 
			 Stockton-on-Tees E06000004 60 29 89 18 14 32 
			 Sunderland E08000024 82 44 126 37 20 57 
			         
			 NORTH WEST E12000002 1,525 1,126 2,651 573 490 1,063 
			         
			 Blackburn with Darwen E06000008 45 28 73 13 13 26 
			 Blackpool E06000009 47 22 69 17 8 25 
			 Bolton E08000001 65 47 112 37 21 58 
			 Bury E08000002 38 25 63 8 8 16 
			 Cheshire East E06000049 67 42 109 18 13 31 
			 Cheshire West and Chester E06000050 79 61 140 27 35 62 
			 Cumbria E10000006 132 89 221 33 33 66 
			 Halton E06000006 16 4 20 12 (5)— (5)— 
			 Knowsley E08000011 81 48 129 45 29 74 
			 Lancashire E10000017 173 151 324 47 66 113 
			 Liverpool E08000012 95 78 173 53 40 93 
			 Manchester E08000003 137 113 250 83 61 144 
			 Oldham E08000004 67 34 101 25 10 35 
			 Rochdale E08000005 68 51 119 25 23 48 
			 Salford E08000006 28 17 45 11 (5)— (5)— 
			 Sefton E08000014 28 23 51 5 7 12 
			 St. Helens E08000013 47 23 70 20 14 34 
			 Stockport E08000007 70 48 118 20 15 35 
			 Tameside E08000008 67 74 141 13 25 38 
			 Trafford E08000009 22 24 46 5 6 11 
			 Warrington E06000007 55 30 85 18 8 26 
			 Wigan E08000010 73 61 134 23 25 48 
			 Wirral E08000015 25 33 58 15 22 37 
			         
			 YORKSHIRE AND THE HUMBER E12000003 1,603 1,071 2,674 582 421 1,003 
			         
			 Barnsley E08000016 109 73 182 41 30 71 
			 Bradford E08000032 207 123 330 83 58 141 
			 Calderdale E08000033 70 34 104 28 19 47 
			 Doncaster E08000017 72 57 129 28 26 54 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire E06000011 78 53 131 17 25 42 
			 Kingston upon Hull, City of E06000010 49 20 69 20 12 32 
			 Kirklees E08000034 95 59 154 32 23 55 
			 Leeds E08000035 239 199 438 119 92 211 
			 North East Lincolnshire E06000012 53 32 85 25 12 37 
			 North Lincolnshire E06000013 30 17 47 13 5 18 
			 North Yorkshire E10000023 128 85 213 30 15 45 
			 Rotherham E08000018 120 58 178 45 19 64 
			 Sheffield E08000019 246 189 435 63 65 128 
			 Wakefield E08000036 86 58 144 35 17 52 
			 York E06000014 21 14 35 3 3 6 
			         
			 EAST MIDLANDS E12000004 1,392 892 2,284 378 270 648 
			         
			 Derby E06000015 51 37 88 (5)— 8 (5)— 
			 Derbyshire E10000007 259 151 410 69 43 112 
		
	
	
		
			 Leicester E06000016 140 87 227 41 33 74 
			 Leicestershire E10000018 257 144 401 49 33 82 
			 Lincolnshire E10000019 111 75 186 25 20 45 
			 Northamptonshire E10000021 219 181 400 52 53 105 
			 Nottingham E06000018 115 65 180 60 34 94 
			 Nottinghamshire E10000024 232 143 375 67 46 113 
			 Rutland E06000017 8 9 17 (5)— 0 (5)— 
			         
			 WEST MIDLANDS E12000005 1,176 747 1,923 354 263 617 
			         
			 Birmingham E08000025 142 111 253 70 58 128 
			 Coventry E08000026 61 42 103 28 17 45 
			 Dudley E08000027 88 58 146 25 22 47 
			 Herefordshire, County of E06000019 28 12 40 (5)— (5)— (5)— 
			 Sandwell E08000028 91 64 155 25 18 43 
			 Shropshire E06000051 80 41 121 14 12 26 
			 Solihull E08000029 42 14 56 7 6 13 
			 Staffordshire E10000028 198 119 317 27 33 60 
			 Stoke-on-Trent E06000021 67 36 103 28 14 42 
			 Telford and Wrekin E06000020 12 13 25 (5)— (5)— (5)— 
			 Walsall E08000030 88 46 134 48 22 70 
			 Warwickshire E10000031 102 61 163 19 17 36 
			 Wolverhampton E08000031 49 37 86 13 14 27 
			 Worcestershire E10000034 128 93 221 46 24 70 
			         
			 EAST OF ENGLAND E12000006 1,910 1,347 3,257 382 335 717 
			         
			 Bedford E06000055 50 39 89 20 15 35 
			 Cambridgeshire E10000003 195 149 344 45 37 82 
			 Central Bedfordshire E06000056 86 53 139 12 11 23 
			 Essex E10000012 452 296 748 84 64 148 
			 Hertfordshire E10000015 260 162 422 47 35 82 
			 Luton E06000032 36 54 90 13 20 33 
			 Norfolk E10000020 392 266 658 79 64 143 
			 Peterborough E06000031 48 34 82 7 10 17 
			 Southend-on-Sea E06000033 60 43 103 16 10 26 
			 Suffolk E10000029 296 223 519 49 60 109 
			 Thurrock E06000034 35 28 63 10 9 19 
			         
			 LONDON E12000007 1,250 1,064 2,314 439 431 870 
			         
			 Inner London E13000001 422 483 905 177 213 390 
			         
			 Camden E09000007 33 45 78 19 18 37 
			 City of London E09000001 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Hackney E09000012 29 37 66 10 18 28 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham E09000013 (5)— 4 (5)— 0 (5)— (5)— 
			 Haringey E09000014 61 76 137 21 28 49 
			 Islington E09000019 20 34 54 8 18 26 
			 Kensington and Chelsea E09000020 (5)— 9 (5)— 0 0 0 
			 Lambeth E09000022 13 20 33 8 6 14 
			 Lewisham E09000023 76 87 163 20 32 52 
			 Newham E09000025 96 88 184 45 42 87 
			 Southwark E09000028 32 25 57 11 10 21 
			 Tower Hamlets E09000030 38 32 70 30 27 57 
			 Wandsworth E09000032 7 17 24 (5)— 8 (5)— 
			 Westminster E09000033 14 9 23 (5)— (5)— 8 
			         
		
	
	
		
			 Outer London E13000002 828 581 1,409 262 218 480 
			         
			 Barking and Dagenham E09000002 38 23 61 11 8 19 
			 Barnet E09000003 55 41 96 19 11 30 
			 Bexley E09000004 31 17 48 14 (5)— (5)— 
			 Brent E09000005 69 46 115 24 24 48 
			 Bromley E09000006 20 27 47 5 6 11 
			 Croydon E09000008 35 30 65 8 6 14 
			 Ealing E09000009 77 49 126 38 25 63 
			 Enfield E09000010 59 50 109 21 15 36 
			 Greenwich E09000011 60 50 110 19 17 36 
			 Harrow E09000015 43 18 61 12 10 22 
			 Havering E09000016 46 35 81 12 8 20 
			 Hillingdon E09000017 55 41 96 11 17 28 
			 Hounslow E09000018 37 12 49 13 6 19 
			 Kingston upon Thames E09000021 20 14 34 (5)— 5 (5)— 
			 Merton E09000024 23 17 40 5 4 9 
			 Redbridge E09000026 59 52 111 15 28 43 
			 Richmond upon Thames E09000027 16 19 35 5 8 13 
			 Sutton E09000029 20 13 33 (5)— (5)— 3 
			 Waltham Forest E09000031 65 27 92 27 14 41 
			         
			 SOUTH EAST E12000008 2,237 1,572 3,809 428 399 827 
			         
			 Bracknell Forest E06000036 5 3 8 3 0 3 
			 Brighton and Hove E06000043 108 77 185 29 31 60 
			 Buckinghamshire E10000002 133 76 209 15 12 27 
			 East Sussex E10000011 101 106 207 21 31 52 
			 Hampshire E10000014 464 321 785 73 76 149 
			 Isle of Wight E06000046 71 45 116 16 16 32 
			 Kent E10000016 323 240 563 80 80 160 
			 Medway E06000035 45 55 100 20 12 32 
			 Milton Keynes E06000042 37 39 76 11 14 25 
			 Oxfordshire E10000025 207 118 325 34 30 64 
			 Portsmouth E06000044 94 57 151 40 18 58 
			 Reading E06000038 12 11 23 3 5 8 
			 Slough E06000039 12 11 23 0 3 3 
			 Southampton E06000045 39 40 79 16 16 32 
			 Surrey E10000030 248 155 403 24 22 46 
			 West Berkshire E06000037 54 37 91 9 6 15 
			 West Sussex E10000032 239 162 401 30 24 54 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead E06000040 17 8 25 (5)— 0 (5)— 
			 Wokingham E06000041 28 11 39 (5)— 3 (5)— 
			         
			 SOUTH WEST E12000009 1,609 1,064 2,673 344 287 631 
			         
			 Bath and North East Somerset E06000022 43 28 71 11 6 17 
			 Bournemouth E06000028 48 40 88 13 14 27 
			 Bristol, City of E06000023 106 56 162 38 20 58 
			 Cornwall E06000052 172 101 273 26 22 48 
			 Devon E10000008 235 185 420 50 55 105 
			 Dorset E10000009 130 73 203 30 17 47 
			 Gloucestershire E10000013 157 96 253 34 34 68 
			 Isles of Scilly E06000053 0 0 0 n/a 0 0 
			 North Somerset E06000024 55 44 99 12 14 26 
			 Plymouth E06000026 57 29 86 13 8 21 
			 Poole E06000029 50 41 91 10 9 19 
			 Somerset E10000027 161 109 270 35 26 61 
			 South Gloucestershire E06000025 115 44 159 27 14 41 
		
	
	
		
			 Swindon E06000030 46 28 74 5 10 15 
			 Torbay E06000027 39 34 73 10 10 20 
			 Wiltshire E06000054 195 156 351 30 28 58 
		
	
	
		
			   Number of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 with no statements of SEN and looked after for at least six months between the ages of 4 and 15(6) not achieving at least 1 GCSE A* to C Number of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 with no statements of SEN and a first language other than English not achieving at least 1 GCSE A* to C 
			 "Region/Local Authority LA/Region number Males Females Total Males Females Total 
			 ENGLAND (State-funded sector)3,4 E92000001 277 326 603 1,138 701 1,839 
			         
			 NORTH EAST E12000001 13 21 34 15 7 22 
			         
			 County Durham E06000047 (5)— 0 (5)— 0 0 0 
			 Darlington E06000005 0 4 4 0 0 0 
			 Gateshead E08000020 (5)— 0 (5)— 0 (5)— (5)— 
			 Hartlepool E06000001 3 (5)— (5)— 0 0 0 
			 Middlesbrough E06000002 (5)— (5)— (5)— 3 (5)— (5)— 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne E08000021 (5)— (5)— 3 (5)— 3 (5)— 
			 North Tyneside E08000022 0 3 3 (5)— 0 (5)— 
			 Northumberland E06000048 (5)— 4 (5)— 0 0 0 
			 Redcar and Cleveland E06000003 0 0 0 (5)— 0 (5)— 
			 South Tyneside E08000023 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Stockton-on-Tees E06000004 (5)— (5)— 3 (5)— (5)— (5)— 
			 Sunderland E08000024 4 4 8 7 0 7 
			         
			 NORTH WEST E12000002 37 44 81 120 37 157 
			         
			 Blackburn with Darwen E06000008 (5)— 0 (5)— 25 8 33 
			 Blackpool E06000009 (5)— (5)— (5)— 0 (5)— (5)— 
			 Bolton E08000001 3 0 3 5 3 8 
			 Bury E08000002 0 (5)— (5)— 3 (5)— (5)— 
			 Cheshire East E06000049 0 (5)— (5)— (5)— 0 (5)— 
			 Cheshire West and Chester E06000050 0 0 0 (5)— 0 (5)— 
			 Cumbria E10000006 3 5 8 (5)— 0 (5)— 
			 Halton E06000006 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Knowsley E08000011 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Lancashire E10000017 (5)— 6 (5)— 8 3 11 
			 Liverpool E08000012 3 (5)— (5)— 4 (5)— (5)— 
			 Manchester E08000003 6 11 17 32 6 38 
			 Oldham E08000004 (5)— (5)— 4 14 (5)— (5)— 
			 Rochdale E08000005 (5)— (5)— 3 15 6 21 
			 Salford E08000006 0 (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 3 
			 Sefton E08000014 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 St. Helens E08000013 (5)— 0 (5)— 0 0 0 
			 Stockport E08000007 3 (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 3 
			 Tameside E08000008 4 5 9 (5)— (5)— (5)— 
			 Trafford E08000009 (5)— 0 (5)— (5)— 0 (5)— 
			 Warrington E06000007 3 3 6 (5)— 0 (5)— 
			 Wigan E08000010 (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 
			 Wirral E08000015 (5)— (5)— 3 0 0 0 
			         
			 YORKSHIRE AND THE HUMBER E12000003 31 35 66 125 82 207 
			         
			 Barnsley E08000016 (5)— (5)— 3 0 (5)— (5)— 
			 Bradford E08000032 4 7 11 39 20 59 
		
	
	
		
			 Calderdale E08000033 (5)— (5)— 3 7 8 15 
			 Doncaster E08000017 4 (5)— (5)— (5)— 0 (5)— 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire E06000011 (5)— (5)— 3 (5)— 0 (5)— 
			 Kingston upon Hull, City of E06000010 (5)— 0 (5)— (5)— 0 (5)— 
			 Kirklees E08000034 0 (5)— (5)— 20 3 23 
			 Leeds E08000035 6 10 16 17 22 39 
			 North East Lincolnshire E06000012 0 (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 
			 North Lincolnshire E06000013 0 (5)— (5)— 0 0 0 
			 North Yorkshire E10000023 (5)— 3 (5)— (5)— (5)— 3 
			 Rotherham E08000018 (5)— 3 (5)— 4 (5)— (5)— 
			 Sheffield E08000019 4 3 7 28 21 49 
			 Wakefield E08000036 (5)— (5)— 3 3 (5)— (5)— 
			 York E06000014 (5)— 0 (5)— 0 0 0 
			         
			 EAST MIDLANDS E12000004 23 26 49 105 53 158 
			         
			 Derby E06000015 0 0 0 17 10 27 
			 Derbyshire E10000007 4 (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 
			 Leicester E06000016 (5)— 6 (5)— 45 19 64 
			 Leicestershire E10000018 4 3 7 7 4 11 
			 Lincolnshire E10000019 (5)— 3 (5)— 7 3 10 
			 Northamptonshire E10000021 3 6 9 15 11 26 
			 Nottingham E06000018 3 (5)— (5)— 9 3 12 
			 Nottinghamshire E10000024 6 5 11 (5)— (5)— (5)— 
			 Rutland E06000017 0 n/a 0 0 0 0 
			         
			 WEST MIDLANDS E12000005 31 31 62 114 55 169 
			         
			 Birmingham E08000025 5 5 10 55 31 86 
			 Coventry E08000026 (5)— (5)— 3 (5)— (5)— 3 
			 Dudley E08000027 (5)— 4 (5)— 6 (5)— (5)— 
			 Herefordshire, County of E06000019 0 0 0 (5)— 0 (5)— 
			 Sandwell E08000028 4 (5)— (5)— 7 7 14 
			 Shropshire E06000051 (5)— 0 (5)— 0 0 0 
			 Solihull E08000029 (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 
			 Staffordshire E10000028 3 4 7 3 (5)— (5)— 
			 Stoke-on-Trent E06000021 0 3 3 3 3 6 
			 Telford and Wrekin E06000020 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Walsall E08000030 4 (5)— (5)— 17 4 21 
			 Warwickshire E10000031 4 (5)— (5)— 4 (5)— (5)— 
			 Wolverhampton E08000031 (5)— (5)— 3 12 (5)— (5)— 
			 Worcestershire E10000034 3 6 9 (5)— (5)— 3 
			         
			 EAST OF ENGLAND E12000006 32 38 70 84 71 155 
			         
			 Bedford E06000055 (5)— 3 (5)— 13 5 18 
			 Cambridgeshire E10000003 4 (5)— (5)— 9 8 17 
			 Central Bedfordshire E06000056 4 (5)— (5)— 0 0 0 
			 Essex E10000012 11 10 21 4 5 9 
			 Hertfordshire E10000015 3 6 9 8 9 17 
			 Luton E06000032 (5)— (5)— 3 9 20 29 
			 Norfolk E10000020 5 11 16 11 6 17 
			 Peterborough E06000031 (5)— 0 (5)— 17 9 26 
			 Southend-on-Sea E06000033 (5)— (5)— 3 4 4 8 
			 Suffolk E10000029 (5)— (5)— (5)— 9 5 14 
			 Thurrock E06000034 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			         
			 LONDON E12000007 25 39 64 413 323 736 
			         
		
	
	
		
			 Inner London E13000001 5 17 22 174 167 341 
			         
			 Camden E09000007 0 (5)— (5)— 18 11 29 
			 City of London E09000001 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Hackney E09000012 0 (5)— (5)— 12 13 25 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham E09000013 0 (5)— (5)— 0 0 0 
			 Haringey E09000014 (5)— 7 (5)— 28 31 59 
			 Islington E09000019 0 0 0 3 18 21 
			 Kensington and Chelsea E09000020 0 0 0 (5)— 0 (5)— 
			 Lambeth E09000022 0 (5)— (5)— 5 3 8 
			 Lewisham E09000023 0 (5)— (5)— 7 17 24 
			 Newham E09000025 (5)— 0 (5)— 58 42 100 
			 Southwark E09000028 0 (5)— (5)— 10 4 14 
			 Tower Hamlets E09000030 0 (5)— (5)— 23 14 37 
			 Wandsworth E09000032 (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 10 (5)— 
			 Westminster E09000033 (5)— 0 (5)— 7 4 11 
			         
			 Outer London E13000002 20 22 42 239 156 395 
			         
			 Barking and Dagenham E09000002 0 0 0 7 5 12 
			 Barnet E09000003 (5)— 6 (5)— 14 9 23 
			 Bexley E09000004 (5)— (5)— 3 3 0 3 
			 Brent E09000005 (5)— (5)— (5)— 36 30 66 
			 Bromley E09000006 0 (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 3 
			 Croydon E09000008 (5)— 0 (5)— 11 5 16 
			 Ealing E09000009 (5)— 0 (5)— 40 26 66 
			 Enfield E09000010 (5)— (5)— 3 19 14 33 
			 Greenwich E09000011 4 3 7 10 7 17 
			 Harrow E09000015 (5)— (5)— (5)— 12 10 22 
			 Havering E09000016 (5)— 0 (5)— 0 (5)— (5)— 
			 Hillingdon E09000017 (5)— (5)— (5)— 9 9 18 
			 Hounslow E09000018 (5)— 0 (5)— 13 5 18 
			 Kingston upon Thames E09000021 (5)— 0 (5)— (5)— (5)— 3 
			 Merton E09000024 0 (5)— (5)— 5 (5)— (5)— 
			 Redbridge E09000026 (5)— (5)— (5)— 27 13 40 
			 Richmond upon Thames E09000027 (5)— (5)— 3 3 3 6 
			 Sutton E09000029 n/a 0 0 (5)— (5)— (5)— 
			 Waltham Forest E09000031 (5)— (5)— 3 25 14 39 
			         
			 SOUTH EAST E12000008 53 60 113 106 54 160 
			         
			 Bracknell Forest E06000036 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Brighton and Hove E06000043 4 (5)— (5)— 4 (5)— (5)— 
			 Buckinghamshire E10000002 3 0 3 27 13 40 
			 East Sussex E10000011 3 6 9 (5)— 0 (5)— 
			 Hampshire E10000014 14 9 23 14 4 18 
			 Isle of Wight E06000046 3 5 8 (5)— 0 (5)— 
			 Kent E10000016 11 14 25 17 14 31 
			 Medway E06000035 (5)— (5)— (5)— 3 0 3 
			 Milton Keynes E06000042 (5)— (5)— (5)— 4 (5)— (5)— 
			 Oxfordshire E10000025 3 3 6 15 4 19 
			 Portsmouth E06000044 (5)— 3 (5)— 0 0 0 
			 Reading E06000038 0 (5)— (5)— 0 (5)— (5)— 
			 Slough E06000039 0 0 0 4 5 9 
			 Southampton E06000045 (5)— 3 (5)— (5)— 4 (5)— 
			 Surrey E10000030 (5)— 5 (5)— 3 (5)— (5)— 
			 West Berkshire E06000037 0 (5)— (5)— (5)— 0 (5)— 
			 West Sussex E10000032 5 6 11 6 4 10 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead E06000040 n/a 0 0 (5)— 0 (5)— 
		
	
	
		
			 Wokingham E06000041 (5)— 0 (5)— (5)— 0 (5)— 
			         
			 SOUTH WEST E12000009 32 32 64 56 19 75 
			         
			 Bath and North East Somerset E06000022 (5)— (5)— 3 (5)— 0 (5)— 
			 Bournemouth E06000028 (5)— (5)— 3 6 (5)— (5)— 
			 Bristol, City of E06000023 (5)— (5)— 4 14 6 20 
			 Cornwall E06000052 4 (5)— (5)— 4 0 4 
			 Devon E10000008 4 9 13 (5)— (5)— 3 
			 Dorset E10000009 3 3 6 3 0 3 
			 Gloucestershire E10000013 4 (5)— (5)— 3 5 8 
			 Isles of Scilly E06000053 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 North Somerset E06000024 3 (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 
			 Plymouth E06000026 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Poole E06000029 0 0 0 0 (5)— (5)— 
			 Somerset E10000027 3 3 6 4 (5)— (5)— 
			 South Gloucestershire E06000025 0 0 0 (5)— 0 (5)— 
			 Swindon E06000030 (5)— 0 (5)— 4 3 7 
			 Torbay E06000027 (5)— (5)— (5)— 0 0 0 
			 Wiltshire E06000054 5 6 11 12 0 12 
			 (1) 2011 figures are based on final data, includes attempts and achievements in previous academic years. (2 )Pupils with no statement of SEN include: School Action, School Action+, no identified SEN and unclassified pupils. (3 )State-funded sector includes state-funded mainstream schools. (4 )State-funded mainstream schools include mainstream schools, CTCs, academies and free schools. (5) Figures not shown in order to protect pupil confidentiality. (6 )Pupils in all settings who at some point in the year to 31 March 2011 were looked after and had been looked after continuously for at least 6 months (note that this does not necessarily need to all be during that year). Includes pupils aged 4 to 15 on 31 August 2010 as collected on the 2010-11 Looked after Children Return from Local Authorities (SSDA903). Source: 2011 Secondary School Performance Tables data (post-errata). Not applicable.

GCSE: Science

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) emails were sent and (b) meetings were held between Ofqual and AQA on the setting of grade boundaries for Unit 1 GCSE science papers in (i) biology, (ii) chemistry and (iii) physics (A) prior to the January 2012 examinations and (B) between the January 2012 and June 2012 examinations.

Elizabeth Truss: Responsibility for managing and agreeing the process of setting grade boundaries for GCSE qualifications is a matter for the independent exams regulator, Ofqual and exam boards. The Department has no role in those decisions.
	Glenys Stacey, Ofqual's chief regulator, has written to the hon. Member with such information relevant to the question as Ofqual holds. A copy of her reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
	Letter from Glenys Stacey, dated 14 January 2013
	The Secretary of State has asked Ofqual to respond to the parliamentary questions you have raised. Please find our responses below.
	If you would like to discuss any of this in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact me.
	“To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) emails were sent and (b) meetings were held between Ofqual and AQA on the setting of grade boundaries for Unit 1 GCSE science papers in (i) biology, (ii) chemistry and (iii) physics (A) prior to the January 2012 examinations and (B) between the January 2012 and June 2012 examinations.”
	We did not hold any meetings (nor have email correspondence) with AQA to discuss the setting of grade boundaries for these unit 1 papers (or any other units), either prior to the January 2012 examinations or between the January 2012 and June 2012 examinations.
	We do discuss with exam boards the grade standards for qualifications overall, including GCSE science. In this case we discussed the expected overall grade standards for new GCSE Science qualifications with exam boards at various points between June 2011 and June 2012. These discussions involved all exam boards together rather than with each exam board individually. Further information on what was agreed can be found in the documents on the ‘Summer Exams 2012' page on our website:
	http://www.ofqual.gov.uk/standards/summer-exams-2012/
	Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss these issues or any others in relation to our regulatory role.

GCSE: Science

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what the allowable level of change between science GCSE examination results of A*-C grade is following the introduction of a new syllabus;
	(2)  what procedure is used to determine grade boundaries for a new syllabus in GCSE science examinations;
	(3)  what the accepted level of grade fluctuation is when a new syllabus is introduced for GCSE science in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics.

Elizabeth Truss: Responsibility for managing and agreeing the process of setting grade boundaries, grading and awarding GCSE qualifications is a matter for the independent exams regulator Ofqual and exam boards. The Department has no role in those decisions.
	Glenys Stacey, Ofqual's chief regulator, has written to the hon. Member with such information relevant to the questions as Ofqual holds. A copy of her reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
	Letter from Glenys Stacey, dated 14 January 2013
	The Secretary of State has asked Ofqual to respond to the parliamentary questions you have raised. Please find our responses as follows.
	If you would like to discuss any of these in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact me.
	PQ 135914:
	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the allowable level of change between science GCSE examination results of A*-C grade is following the introduction of a new syllabus.
	Given the more challenging nature of the new GCSE science syllabuses, students had to perform at a higher standard to achieve the same grades. Exam boards took this into account when judging where to set grade boundaries on the new GCSE Science units in summer 2012. Exam boards agreed a common statistical mechanism to predict likely results and these predictions were used as a starting point for the awards of new GCSE science qualifications last summer.
	These statistics were only part of the information used during the awarding process, which also includes evidence of student performance. Exam boards used a range of qualitative and quantitative evidence as required by our Code of Practice. If their results differed from the original predictions by more than 2% the exam boards were required to provide evidence to justify those results but this did not set a limit on the level of change between this new qualification and its predecessor.
	PQ 135915:
	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what procedure is used to determine grade boundaries for a new syllabus in GCSE science examinations.
	The procedure for determining grade boundaries for new GCSE science specifications is no different from that used for ail other GCSEs. These are described in the Code of Practice and Ofqual’s General Conditions of Recognition. Exam boards are required to use a range of evidence, including evidence of student work, recommendations from senior examiners, and statistical evidence.
	PQ 136060:
	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the accepted level of grade fluctuation is when a new syllabus is introduced for GCSE science in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics.
	New GCSE qualifications in biology, chemistry, physics and additional science will be awarded for the first time in summer 2013. Only new GCSE Science qualifications were available in summer 2012 (the other titles were available in the predecessor qualification). As mentioned in response to PQ 135914, given the more challenging nature of the new GCSE science specifications students have to perform at a higher standard to achieve the same grades. For this reason we have been discussing with exam boards the expected standards for new GCSE qualifications in biology, chemistry, physics and additional science and will continue to do so ahead of the first qualifications being awarded in summer 2013.
	We do not define how much fluctuation there should be in performance across grades for new GCSEs in science. It is for the exam boards themselves to set appropriate grade standards using all the information available to them as described in our regulatory documents. Ofqual monitored the awards of GCSE Science qualifications in 2012 and will do so for the separate and additional science qualifications in 2013. We will challenge any exam board's qualification outcomes if it is necessary to do so.

GCSE: Science

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many of the AQA Unit 1 science examination papers sat for GCSE (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics were (i) requested to be remarked and (ii) remarked in (A) June 2011, (B) January 2012 and (C) June 2012;
	(2)  what proportion of students received an A* grade for the AQA Unit 1 GCSE papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in January 2012;
	(3)  how many students received an A* grade for AQA Unit 1 GCSE papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in January 2012;
	(4)  how many pupils received an A* grade in the AQA Unit 1 GCSE science papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in June 2012;
	(5)  what proportion of students received an A* grade in the AQA Unit 1 GCSE science papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in June 2012.

Elizabeth Truss: Information on GCSE science unit level exam entries, awards and remarking requests is not held by the Department but is collated by the qualifications regulator, Ofqual.
	Glenys Stacey, Ofqual's Chief Regulator, has written to the hon. Member with such information relevant to the questions as Ofqual holds. A copy of her reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
	Letter from Glenys Stacey, dated 14 January 2013
	The Secretary of State has asked Ofqual to respond to the parliamentary questions you have raised. Please find our responses below.
	If you would like to discuss any of these in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact me.
	PQ 135916
	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many of the AQA Unit 1 science examination papers sat for GCSE (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics were (i) requested to be remarked and (ii) were remarked in (A) June 2011, (B) January 2012 and (C) June 2012.
	For the summer exam series 2012 we collected the number of enquiries for remarks by unit from awarding organisations. These figures are set out in the table below. The column "enquiries" shows the number of requests received and re-marked. The "%" column shows those enquiries as a percentage of the total number of entries for that unit.
	
		
			 Unit title Unit code Enquiries Total entries number % 
			 Biology Unit 1 Tier H BL1HP 544 97,237 0.56 
			 Chemistry Unit 1 Tier H CH1HP 438 95,409 0.46 
			 Physics Unit 1 Tier H PH1HP 427 96,491 0.44 
		
	
	Previous to this, we collected for each summer exam series the total number of unit enquiries. These figures do not break down at an individual unit level. Awarding organisations sent Ofqual individual units only if the percentage of enquiries for remarks to the total entry was greater than 5%. None of the science subjects for AQA fell into this category.
	PQ 136058
	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of students received an A* grade for the AQA Unit 1 GCSE papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in January 2012.
	In January 2012, 0.6% of students achieved a unit-level A* grade in Biology unit 1, 1.4% in Chemistry unit 1 and 0.9% in Physics unit 1.
	PQ 136059
	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students received an A* grade for AQA Unit 1 GCSE papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in January 2012.
	In January 2012, 561 students achieved a unit-level A* grade in Biology unit 1, 1,168 in Chemistry unit l and 710 in Physics unit 1.
	PQ 136061
	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils received an A* grade in the AQA Unit 1 GCSE science papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in June 2012.
	In June 2012, 10,273 students achieved a unit-level A* grade in Biology unit 1, 11,077 in Chemistry unit 1 and 8,022 in Physics unit 1.
	PQ 136062
	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of students received an A* grade in the AQA Unit 1 GCSE science papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in June 2012.
	In June 2012, 6.9% of students achieved a unit-level A* grade in Biology unit 1, 7.4% in Chemistry unit 1 and 5.4% in Physics unit 1.
	Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss these issues or any others in relation to our regulatory role.

Health Education: Drugs

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what arrangements are in place to provide drug education schemes in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools;
	(2)  how much his Department has spent on providing drug education schemes in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each of the last five years.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education does not explicitly fund drug education schemes in schools. Pupils are currently provided with education in primary and secondary schools on the physiological effects of drugs as part of the statutory National Curriculum Programmes of Study for science. They may also receive wider drugs education as part of non-statutory Personal, Health and Economic (PSHE) education.

Intercountry Adoption

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children who were nationals of each non-UK country were adopted from care in each year since 2000.

Edward Timpson: Information on the nationality of children looked after and/or adopted in England is not collected centrally by the Department.
	However, information on adopted children, containing details of their ethnic origin, can be found in the Statistical First Release ‘Children Looked After by Local Authorities in England (including adoption and care leavers)—year ending 31 March 2011', which is available on the Department's website via the following link:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001026/index.shtml

Intercountry Adoption

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education from which governments the UK has received representations on forcible adoption of children of their nationals resident in the UK.

Edward Timpson: Ministers are aware of no representations received from Governments relating to foreign national children being adopted in England without parental consent.

Meetings

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many meetings he and officials of his Department had with Google in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012;
	(2)  how many meetings he and officials of his Department had with Amazon in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

Elizabeth Truss: All meetings between the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), and external organisations are published on the Department's website
	http://tinyurl.com/bfgaw7o
	as part of the transparency commitment. Meetings between the permanent secretary and external organisations are also available here:
	http://tinyurl.com/aqmg9q6
	We would incur disproportionate costs if we compiled a list of the meetings between officials in the Department and these organisations.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he has taken to ensure that his Department's staff with responsibility for the personal, social, health and economic education review meet all relevant stakeholders including those working to end violence against women and girls; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 17 January 2013
	The Department for Education's commitment to work preventing Violence Against Women and Girls is shown in its contributions to the cross-Government Action Plan: these reflect our responsibility for protecting children and young people from harm.
	We have already held a public consultation as part of the Government's review of Personal, Social, Health and Economic education. As part of the consultation, the Violence Against Women and Girls stakeholder group submitted a response and met with officials from the review team.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will bring forward plans to fund visits to schools by the Life Education Centre as part of the personal, social, health and economic education curriculum.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 18 January 2013
	While the Government has no plans to support specific visits to schools by the Life Education Centre, schools are free to work with them should they wish. It is up to schools to decide what resources and training they use to support their teaching, including in Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education.

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether schools are able to use the pupil premium to pay for breakfasts for pupils who would otherwise start the day hungry; and if he will make a statement.

David Laws: holding answer 10 January 2013
	The pupil premium is additional funding given to schools to enable them to provide additional support for their disadvantaged pupils, in order to close the attainment gap between them and their peers. We have announced that pupil premium will rise to £900 per pupil in 2013/14. Head teachers are free to spend the funding on the interventions where there is evidence that these will improve the relative educational performance of disadvantaged pupils. Ofsted will hold schools to account for using the pupil premium for this purpose.

Pupils: Per Capita Costs

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average lifetime cost to the Exchequer is of educating a child in the state school system.

David Laws: For pupils who completed their state schooling aged 18 in 2012, their schools will have on average received £63,780 revenue funding per pupil (2011-12 prices) over the 14 years of their schooling from when they started reception in 1998.

School Meals

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to ensure the availability of breakfasts and lunches to all children in primary school.

Elizabeth Truss: Schools must provide school lunches (if a request is made and it is reasonable to do so) and are required to provide free school meals to eligible pupils. Schools are, free to provide breakfast, on a free or paid basis, as part of an offer of wraparound care. The Childcare Commission, established in 2012, is considering wraparound care alongside other forms of childcare and will publish its report shortly.
	We recognise that there is more to do to improve school food in England, and that is why we have asked Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent to carry out a review of school food in England: the School Food Plan. They will make recommendations this year.

Schools: Crimes of Violence

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what proportion of children reported experiencing bullying and violence in (a) primary school and (b) secondary school in 2011-12;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the level of bullying and violence experienced by children in (a) primary and (b) secondary school in 2011-12.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department has not carried out research on the prevalence of bullying and violence in primary and secondary schools in 2011-12, and is therefore unable to report specifically on the proportions of children reporting bullying and violence in these schools for that year.
	The Government's message is that tackling bullying remains a top priority and that schools should not tolerate bullying for any reason, and should take decisive action when it occurs. To help schools, we have updated our advice on preventing and tackling bullying. The advice is available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/pupilsupport/behaviour/bullying/f0076899/preventing-and-tackling-bullying

Schools: East Sussex

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much schools in Eastbourne and Willingdon received in funding from the pupil premium in 2011-12; and how much they will receive in 2012-13.

David Laws: The pupil premium was introduced in April 2011. Pupil premium funding is provided to schools which have on roll pupils known to be eligible for free school meals (the deprivation premium); children in care who have been continuously looked after for at least six months (the looked after child premium); and children whose parents are serving in the armed forces (the service child premium).
	In the financial year 2011-12, Eastbourne parliamentary constituency attracted £1.041 million pupil premium funding in respect of 2,140 pupils eligible for the deprivation premium or service child premium, it is not possible to identify, at constituency level, the number of pupils eligible for the looked after child premium or the number of pupils eligible for the deprivation premium in alternative provision settings.
	In the financial year 2012-13, eligibility for pupil premium was extended and Eastbourne parliamentary constituency attracted £2.027 million pupil premium funding in respect of 3,260 pupils.
	We are not able to separately identify how much pupil premium funding Willingdon area receives.
	The pupil premium will increase from £623 to £900 per pupil in 2013-14 and the service premium will increase from £250 to £300 per pupil. Illustrative allocations for 2013-14 are available on the Department for Education's website.

Schools: Transport

Pat Glass: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  which education transport practitioners and stakeholders were involved in the Efficiency and Practice Review of Home to School Transport;
	(2)  what meetings he has had to discuss the Efficiency and Practice Review of Home to School Transport;
	(3)  when his Department plans to publish the Efficiency and Practice Review of Home to School Transport.

David Laws: holding answer 18 January 2013
	A small scale review commenced in June 2011 to examine the scope for securing greater efficiencies in how local authorities plan, procure and provide home to school transport services. Departmental officials have worked with a range of partners and stakeholder to gather evidence and examples of good practice. Ministers are currently considering a draft of the final report.
	During the review, Ministers and officials met with Members of Parliament; officers and elected members from a number of local authorities; representative organisations such as the Local Government Association, the Association of Directors of Children's Services; the Catholic Education Service; a small number of schools, including schools with a religious character; academies and free schools; bus companies, including Arriva, Go-Ahead, Stagecoach, First Group, National Express, the Confederation of Passenger Transport, as well as other local bus companies. Departmental officials also met with a wide range of groups connected with alternative modes of travel, such as SUSTRANS, Modeshift and Living Streets. Finally, via the Youth Parliament, we also took the views of young people, as well as a small number of parent groups. It would be disproportionately costly to name all those who met with Ministers or officials.

Special Educational Needs

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many places for post-16 high needs provision are being funded in each local authority; and what the actual number of places required is in each such authority for 2013-14.

David Laws: holding answer 9 January 2013
	The number of post-16 high needs places to be funded in 2013/14 in each local authority area is not yet available. We will provide further information when funding allocations have been finalised later this term.

Special Educational Needs

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many local authorities have made representations to him on changes to the amount made available for post-16 high needs provision; and what action he has taken as a result.

David Laws: holding answer 10 January 2013
	Between 1 December 2012 and 9 January 2013 the Education Funding Agency received representations from 25 local authorities about the adequacy of the funding to be allocated to them in respect of post-16 high needs students in 2013/14. Inquiries have been received in relation to various aspects of the funding reforms relating to post-16 students with high needs and each local authority has received a response or should receive one shortly.
	The Department's total planned expenditure on post-16 high needs students will be 9% higher in the academic year beginning 2013 than it was in the academic year which began in 2011. As a result, no local authority area will receive funding for its high needs students in the 2013/14 academic year that is below the equivalent level of funding in the 2011/12 academic year.

Special Educational Needs

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance he has given to local authorities who have more people requiring places in high needs post-16 provision than will be funded in the next financial year.

David Laws: holding answer 10 January 2013
	The Department has consistently made it clear to local authorities that, to meet the costs of post-16 high needs students incurred in the next financial year, they will be able to draw upon their high needs budget, which is funded by the dedicated schools grant (DSG) they receive from the Education Funding Agency, and which covers children and young people with high needs from age 0 to 25.
	In August 2012 the Education Funding Agency wrote to each local authority advising them of the indicative amounts that were in the baseline budgets in respect of their post-16 high needs students. This was to help local authorities to plan their provision for the 2013-14 financial year. Following data returns from local authorities, the agency again wrote to authorities in December 2012 to inform them of the proposed distribution of high needs places for 16 to 24-year-olds in their areas in the 2013/14 academic year. It also wrote to authorities to confirm the high needs element of their DSG allocations.
	Local authorities have the opportunity, until 22 February, to submit exceptional cases to adjust the final distribution of funded places for post-16 students and high needs DSG allocations.

Speech Therapy

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of the potential implications of reductions in funding to speech and language therapy services.

Daniel Poulter: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Health.
	The information requested is not collected centrally. Funding for speech and language therapy is provided within the National Health Service budget and decided by local NHS organisations. This process provides the means for addressing local needs within the health community, including the provision of speech and language therapy.

Visits Abroad

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many overseas trips he has taken for the purpose of official government business in the last 12 months.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 17 January 2013
	The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), travelled overseas three times on official Government business in the last 12 months.

Written Questions

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many named day questions were answered within five days by his Department (a) since 1 September 2012 and (b) from September 2011 to September 2012;
	(2)  what proportion of named day questions from the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham have been given a substantive answer within five days since September 2012.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 15 January 2013
	The data requested relating to the Department for Education's performance in answering named day parliamentary questions are set out in the following table.
	Since September 2012 the hon. Member has tabled 70 named day questions for the Department for Education; of these 23 have been given a substantive answer within five days.
	
		
			 Commons named day PQs 
			 Performance against standard 
			  2011 2012 
			  Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 
			 Due for answer 52 63 97 69 66 51 73 53 57 75 51 (1)— 48 76 81 68 
			 Answered 52 63 97 69 66 51 73 53 55 73 50 n/a 46 75 79 64 
			 Met parliamentary deadline (set by MP) 14 6 13 10 23 19 16 20 15 4 10 n/a 3 17 6 34 
			 Percentage 27 10 13 14 35 37 22 38 26 5 20 n/a 6 22 7 50 
			                  
			 Answered one to five days late 20 29 27 21 24 14 24 .32 26 29 28 n/a 9 32 37 14 
			 Answered six or more days late 18 28 57 38 19 18 33 1 14 40 12 n/a 34 26 36 16 
			                  
			 Unanswered on 17 January 2013 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 n/a 2 1 2 4 
			 (1) Recess

CABINET OFFICE

Big Society Capital

Robert Halfon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many social impact bonds have been issued by Big Society Capital to date; what the total value of such bonds has been; and who received each such bond.

Nick Hurd: Big Society Capital has so far made investments in six social impact bonds. Details are available on Big Society Capital's website at:
	http://www.bigsocietycapital.com/how-we-invest

Business: Surrey

Jonathan Lord: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of (a) small and (b) medium-sized businesses that were operating in (i) Woking and (ii) Surrey in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated January 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking for the estimate of (a) small and (b) medium sized businesses that were operating in (i) Woking and (ii) Surrey in each of the last five years.
	Annual statistics on the number of businesses (enterprises) are available from the ONS release “UK Business: Activity, Size and Location” at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/bus-register/uk-business/index.html
	Data on the number of enterprises broken down by districts, counties, unitary authorities within region and country and by employment size band can be found in table B1.2 of the publication.
	The table below contains the count of (a) small and (b) medium sized businesses that were operating in Woking and Surrey from 2008 to 2012. Small businesses have been defined as those with an employment between 0 and 49 and medium-sized businesses as those with an employment between 50 and 249.
	
		
			  2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			  Small Medium Small Medium Small Medium Small Medium Small Medium 
			 Woking 3,935 60 3,935 65 3,865 65 3,855 65 4,080 70 
			 Surrey 52,165 730 52,105 745 51,350 720 51,455 740 53,705 780 
			 Notes: 1. The above figures have been rounded to the nearest 5. 2. These numbers do not include very small businesses, typically those below the threshold for VAT and PAYE.

Civil Servants: Disciplinary Proceedings

Mark Field: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether all Government employees, if subject to disciplinary allegations, are entitled to a disciplinary process that accords with the requirements of the ACAS Guide on Discipline and Grievances at Work and the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures.

Francis Maude: holding answer 18 January 2013
	Within the civil service, each Department is responsible for their own disciplinary procedures. The Cabinet Office recommends simple, clear procedures which closely follow the ACAS code of practice and guidance.

Crime: North West

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how many cases of drug offences were reported in (a) Pendle constituency, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many cases of domestic burglary were reported in (a) Pendle constituency, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated January 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions asking for the numbers of reported cases of domestic burglary and drug offences in (a) Pendle constituency, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West in each of the last five years. (138114, 138115)
	Police recorded crime figures are provided for the last five financial years (April to March) for Pendle local authority area, Lancashire Police Force Area, and the North West region. Crime data are not available at parliamentary constituency level, but in this instance the boundaries of Pendle constituency are those of Pendle Borough Council.
	
		
			  2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Pendle local authority      
			 Burglary in a dwelling 289 307 210 192 234 
			 Drug offences 325 262 401 359 294 
			       
			 Lancashire police force area      
			 Burglary in a dwelling 4,987 5,114 4,436 4,367 4,279 
			 Drug offences 4,277 4,521 5,234 4,913 4,732 
			       
			 North West region      
			 Burglary in a dwelling 39,592 41,408 37,361 33,947 31,269 
			 Drug offences 32,369 36,110 35,541 36,737 34,141 
		
	
	These data have been published by the ONS and have been extracted from the ‘Recorded crime data at local authority level from 2002/03', and ‘Recorded crime data at police force area level from 2002/03' files, available here:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-274949
	The crime statistics data published by the ONS cover England and Wales only. Crime data for Scotland are published at:
	http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice
	and data for Northern Ireland are published at:
	http://www.psni.police.uk/index/updates/updates_statistics/update_crime_statistics.htm

Official Cars

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what official guidance is issued to the Leader of the Opposition on the use of Government cars.

Francis Maude: In line with the practice under successive Administrations, the Leader of the Official Opposition is provided with the use of a Government car for duties and responsibilities associated with being Leader of the Official Opposition.

Publications

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how often his Department produces a staff magazine.

Francis Maude: The Cabinet Office no longer has a weekly staff magazine. This has resulted in savings of around £100,000 a year for the Department.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Internet

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 8 January 2013, Official Report, column 213W, on internet, what steps her Department is taking to increase internet take-up in (a) Glasgow North West, (b) Glasgow, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The Government is committed to making public services available online. In support of this, the Government Digital Service within the Cabinet Office works with Go-ON:UK, a new charity created to build on and take forward the work started by Race Online 2012.
	The Government continues to commit resources to meeting these aims through its Government Digital Strategy.

Morning Star

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has held with the Morning Star as part of her consultation on the future of the newspaper industry in relation to the Leveson Inquiry.

Edward Vaizey: None.

Tourism

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what consideration was given to including the measures on tourism in the pledges made by the Government in the Coalition Mid-Term Review.

Hugh Robertson: holding answer 17 January 2013
	Tourism is a key part of the UK Economy, generating a total of £44.6 billion gross value added, 3.55% of the economy, according to the latest figures. The Mid-Term review document sets out the Government's focus to maintain a business environment that can support all parts of the economy and further improve on the creation of over 1 million private sector jobs.

World War I: Anniversaries

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  if she will take steps to ensure that the success of British Empire and Dominion forces in (a) defeating the German Spring Offensive of March 1918 and (b) securing victory in the Battle of Amiens in August 1918 and the ensuing Hundred Days campaign will be recognised in the centenary commemorations of the First World War; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  if she will take steps to ensure that the justice of the cause for which the armed forces of the British Empire and Dominions fought will be recognised in the centenary commemorations of the First World War, with particular reference to the liberation of Belgium and France; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: On 11 October 2012, the Prime Minister set out the Government's plans for a £50 million programme to mark the centenary of the First World War. The Programme includes a number of national commemorative events, including the outbreak of the War, the first day of the Battle of the Somme and the cessation of hostilities on Armistice Day; further events, working with partners such as the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to commemorate the actions at Gallipoli, Jutland and Passchendaele; the refurbishment of the Imperial War Museum's First World War galleries and a programme of visits to First World War battlefields for secondary schools. Other elements of the programme are currently under consideration and will be announced in due course.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Monarchy: Succession

Andrew Turner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what effect his planned changes to succession to the Crown will have on the role of the heir to the throne as (a) Duke of Cornwall and (b) Prince of Wales.

Chloe Smith: The Succession to the Crown Bill does not change the rules governing the inheritance of royal titles. It removes two areas of discrimination with regard to the rules of royal succession: the male preference primogeniture and the ban on the heir marrying a Roman Catholic.

JUSTICE

Coroners’ Courts Support Service

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what Government funding is provided to the Coroners’ Courts Support Service; what assessment he has made of the adequacy of that funding; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Grant: The Ministry of Justice has responsibility for coroner law and policy only. It does not have operational responsibility for coroners so is not resourced to fund coroners and associated services. However, since the Coroners’ Courts Support Service (CCSS) was set up in 2003, the Ministry of Justice (and its predecessor departments) has provided the organisation with funding of up to £15,000 a year to enable it to expand into new coroners’ courts. This funding covers the cost of recruiting and training CCSS volunteers. This financial year the MOJ is providing the CCSS with £60,000 towards their running costs on an exceptional basis.

Detention and Training Orders

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many children were released from (a) secure children's homes, (b) secure training centres and (c) young offender institutions at the mid-point of a Detention and Training Order with an intensive supervision and surveillance requirement and an electronic curfew in each of the last three years.

Jeremy Wright: It is not possible to match the type of institution an offender is released from with the type of requirements imposed except at disproportionate cost; however, information on new electronic monitoring orders imposed on subjects serving a Detention and Training Order in England and Wales between 2010 and 2012 is contained in the following table:
	
		
			 New electronic monitoring starts on release from a Detention and Training Order, England and Wales, 2010-12(1) 
			  2010 2011 2012 
			 Adult (aged 18+) 498 422 397 
			 Juvenile (aged 10 to 17) 1,593 1,579 1,463 
			 Total 2,091 2,001 1,860 
			 (1 )These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. Note: Age group is determined by age at the start of the electronic monitoring order. 
		
	
	The Detention and Training Order is served half in custody and half under supervision in the community. Under-18s will be supervised by youth offending teams (YOTs) on release. Where an under-18 is assessed as presenting a high risk of reoffending then the YOT may put them on intensive supervision and surveillance for the supervision part of the DTO. This consists of a night time electronically monitored curfew and up to 25 hours a week of intensive supervision.
	Although the DTO is a juvenile sentence those who turn 18 will remain on the order and may also remain under the supervision of a YOT until the order has ended.
	The data are from the electronic monitoring service providers.

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 3 December 2012, Official Report, columns 666-7W, on prisons: drugs and alcoholic drinks, if he will publish details of the length of time that such prisoners were remanded in custody for the latest year for which figures are available.

Jeremy Wright: We are unable to publish information on the length of time that such prisoners—as mentioned previously in written answer of 3 December 2012, Official Report, columns 666-7W—were remanded in custody. It is not possible to identify those prisoners who are drugs and alcohol dependent from centrally held data sources without incurring a disproportionate cost.
	For all remand prisoners the average time spent on remand awaiting trial and/or sentence is nine weeks.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service

Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department takes to make HM Courts and Tribunals Service staff aware of the provisions of the Data Protection (Processing of Sensitive Data) (Elected Representatives) Order 2002 under the Data Protection Act 1998; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Grant: The Data Access and Compliance team in the Ministry provides relevant staff with training, advice and guidance on all provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 and the broader data protection framework. The Information Commissioner is the UK's independent authority responsible for administering and enforcing information rights, and provides guidance and advice to organisations on, among other things, the Data Protection Act, including the Data Protection (processing of sensitive data) (elected representatives) Order 2002.
	The training, advice and guidance provided by the Data Access and Compliance team are in line with the Information Commissioner's Office guidelines.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service

Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what advice has been given to HM Courts and Tribunals Service staff on dealing with representations from hon. Members on behalf of their constituents who are sponsors and are making enquiries about their relatives' visit visa or entry clearance applications appeals; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Grant: When dealing with representations from hon. Members on behalf of their constituents HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) staff are required to take into account both Data Protection Act requirements (including those relating to hon. Members) and Judicial directions.
	The Judicial directions require that data can only be released to the appellant or those authorised by the appellant.
	HMCTS staff are therefore authorised to respond substantively to representations from hon. Members on behalf of their constituents who are sponsors where the appellant has consented to this.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service

Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what training is given to HM Courts and Tribunals Service staff on dealing with representations from hon. Members; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Grant: HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) staff may deal with representations from hon. Members in a number of ways including responding to inquiries addressed to a court or tribunal, preparation of answers to parliamentary questions, verbal briefing of Ministers and drafting written responses to ministerial correspondence and other official replies. HMCTS staff whose roles specifically include dealing with such representations receive training in answering telephone calls and responding to written correspondence from Members and their offices. This training aims to ensure that staff can identify what information a Member needs or what further action must be taken in response to representations. It also trains staff to understand what information a Minister or other official should provide to the Member. This ensures that Members are provided with appropriate case specific details to assist their constituents, resolve their inquiries and also that appropriate action is taken by HMCTS.

Legal Aid Scheme: Negligence

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the Government will offer costs protection to claimants in professional negligence cases following the implementation of Part II of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act in April 2013; if any such measures will include (a) Qualified One Way Costs Shifting, (b) alternative dispute resolution in the pre-action protocol and (c) a statutory adjudication procedure as already used in construction disputes; and if he will delay implementation of Part II of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act in professional negligence and liability disputes until some costs protection is available.

Helen Grant: Costs protection—in the form of qualified one way costs shifting (QOCS)—is being introduced from April 2013 for personal injury cases (including clinical negligence) only. The Government announced on 12 December 2012, Official Report, column 39WS, that it will delay implementation of the provisions in Part 2 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 for defamation and privacy proceedings until a costs protection regime has been developed.
	Costs protection will not be available in other proceedings, including professional negligence, when the relevant provision in Part 2 of the Act comes into effect on 1 April 2013. However, the Government will keep under review whether to introduce costs protection in other areas of litigation, in the light of the experience of QOCS.

Offenders: Rehabilitation

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to extend the use of the prison chaplaincy service in rehabilitation post release from prison.

Jeremy Wright: Chaplains in prisons will continue to have a significant role to play in terms of helping to link those prisoners that wish, with their faith communities on release. There are many local resettlement schemes, including Community Chaplaincies, that work closely with Chaplaincy teams in prisons in order to provide support through the gate and post release.
	My Department has recently published the consultation ‘Transforming Rehabilitation—a revolution in the way we manage offenders’. The proposals in this document include opening up delivery of rehabilitative services in the community to a wide range of providers. We expect lead providers, incentivised by payment by results contracts, to make use of the whole range of organisations which work with offenders, signposting offenders to other services that work to reduce reoffending and sub contracting with expert local organisations.

Offenders: Rehabilitation

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he expects the mentoring scheme for recently released prisoners to be rolled out across the UK.

Jeremy Wright: We have published a consultation paper ‘Transforming Rehabilitation: a revolution in the way we manage offenders’, on 9 January this year. The paper sets out our commitment to opening up rehabilitative services to a range of new providers, who will be paid by results to help offenders turn their lives around. As a part of this we expect to see more use of innovative approaches such as mentoring, and offenders receiving targeted support to tackle the root causes of offending.
	We intend to apply this approach across rehabilitative services in the community by 2015.

Personal Injury: Compensation

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what progress has been made on implementation of the planned 10 per cent increase in general damages for personal injury claims; what discussions he has had with the judiciary on the issue; whether the uplift will be reflected in the next edition of the Guidelines for General Damages Personal Injury; when the next edition of the Guidelines will be published; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Grant: On 10 October 2012 the Court of Appeal gave judgment in the case of Simmons v. Castle. This will result in an increase of 10% in the level of general damages for non-pecuniary loss, such as pain, suffering and general amenity—but not limited to personal injury. The increase applies to all personal injury cases except where the case is funded under a conditional fee agreement entered into before 1 April 2013.
	In respect of discussions with the judiciary, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Huntingdon (Mr Djanogly) on 9 February 2012, Official Report, column 446W.
	The guidelines in the current, eleventh edition of the Judicial College's “Guidelines for the assessment of general damages in personal injury cases” apply now, and so do not include the increase from April. That guide is published independently, and the publisher will determine when to issue the next edition. However, updates will be available on the judiciary website.

Prison Service

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) target and (b) actual current absence rates are for Prison Service officers in England; and what the equivalent rates are in (i) Scotland, (ii) Wales and (iii) Northern Ireland.

Jeremy Wright: There is no target for the level of sickness absence specifically for the grade of prison officer in England and Wales. Targets are set for sickness absence covering all staff at each establishment but a corporate target for sickness absence is not set.
	For the 12 months up to 30 September 2012 (the date of the latest published data) the average number of working days lost to sickness absence by prison officers in public sector Prison Service establishments in England was 11.5. The equivalent figure for the public sector in Wales was 8.0. Information relating to private sector establishments is not collected on the same basis as that required by the Cabinet Office of the public sector. For this reason figures for the private sector are not presented here.
	The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on the sickness absence rates of prison officers in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Prison Services for Scotland and Northern Ireland are both devolved and are the responsibility of the devolved Ministers.

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average length of time was from the beginning of (a) an income support, (b) a tax credits and (c) a disability living allowance appeal to the clearance or disposal of the case (i) nationally and (ii) at the Hull tribunal venue in each month since April 2010.

Helen Grant: Appeals against decisions made by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on an individual's entitlement to income support (IS) and disability living allowance (DLA) and appeals against decisions made by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs on an individual's entitlement to tax credits, are heard by the First-tier Tribunal—Social Security and Child Support, administered by Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS).
	At present appeals for IS and DLA are initially received by the DWP and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for tax credits. On receipt DWP and HMRC consider whether they wish to revise their original decision and, if they do not, send the appeal along with their response to the tribunal. The following tables shows the average time from submission to DWP and HMRC to receipt at HMCTS.
	
		
			 Average time in working days from submission to DWP to receipt at HMCTS 
			  2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			  DLA IS DLA IS DLA IS 
			 April 31.3 81.7 26.7 50.3 29.3 65.4 
			 May 30.8 79.1 28.0 50.0 31.9 66.1 
			 June 32.3 67.8 29.7 53.8 33.7 67.0 
			 July 32.0 70.5 31.8 60.8 36.1 73.1 
			 August 31.4 65.8 31.1 64.1 36.3 73.8 
			 September 30.5 60.5 32.2 61.0 34.9 75.9 
			 October 29.9 68.1 32.2 70.0 35.4 76.7 
			 November 28.9 62.4 29.7 63.8 31.9 72.6 
			 December 27.7 56.4 29.8 59.4 31.0 71.5 
			 January 29.5 59.2 31.0 63.9 — — 
			 February 28.6 61.1 29.1 65.7 — — 
			 March 26.0 59.8 28.4 63.4 — — 
			 YTD 29.9 66.4 30.0 61.3 33.5 71.7 
		
	
	
		
			 Average time in working days from submission to HMRC to receipt at HMCTS 
			  2010-11 2011- 12 2012- 13 
			  BAU(1) EL(2) BAU EL BAU EL 
			 April — — 96.0 114.0 94.0 234.0 
			 May — — 95.0 132.0 100.0 181.0 
			 June — — 98.0 127.0 90.0 195.0 
		
	
	
		
			 July — — 111.0 158.0 100.0 236.0 
			 August — — 121.0 172.0 107.0 277.0 
			 September — — 124.0 166.0 106.0 271.0 
			 October 289.0 49.0 117.0 154.0 114.0 239.0 
			 November 150.0 61.0 113.0 196.0 120.0 254.0 
			 December 111.0 90.0 96.0 189.0 118.0 265.0 
			 January 92.0 106.0 102.0 189.0 — — 
			 February 91.0 114.0 82.0 180.0 — — 
			 March 92.0 119.0 90.0 189.0 — — 
			 YTD 137.5 89.8 103.8 163.8 105.4 239.1 
			 (1) BAU—Business As Usual appeals are those appeals received against decisions made in the normal day-to-day activity of administering tax credits. (2) EL—Exchequer Loss appeals are those appeals received against decisions made in targeted compliance activity cases. These are likely to have denied or restricted entitlement resulting in the recovery of amounts already paid. Note: DWP deal with appeals in respect of income support and disability living allowance. HMRC deal with appeals in respect of tax credits. Figures show the average time taken for the clearance of the appeal from receipt to sending the appeal to HMCTS These are national figures. Figures which are specific to Hull venue are not available. 
		
	
	The following tables show the average time taken in weeks from receipt of an appeal to outcome by the tribunal in respect of (a) income support, (b) tax credits, (c) disability living allowance (i) nationally and (ii) in Hull for each month from April 2010 to June 2012 (the latest period for which figures are available).
	
		
			 Average time in weeks from receipt at HMCTS to outcome April 2010 to June 2012 
			 2010-11 
			  Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar 
			 (i) National             
			 (a) Income support 18 17.3 17.4 19.7 18.7 20.2 20.6 19.6 20.1 20.3 22.7 24.5 
			 (b) Tax credits(1) 12.7 12.4 13.7 13.9 16.2 15.9 15.6 16.0 16.1 17.6 17.3 16.7 
			 (c) DLA 19.8 19.5 20.3 21.2 21.6 21.6 22.3 22.8 23.7 26.3 25.7 27.6 
			              
			 (ii) Hull             
			 (a) Income support 15.3 10.7 20.6 19.3 11.9 34.5 26.7 19.2 21.9 7.6 26.0 16.5 
			 (b)Tax credits 4.0 0.0 18.1 0.0 15.3 20.0 18.5 18.9 7.6 24.0 0.0 2.4 
			 (c) DLA 17.4 19.4 23.2 22.1 23.6 22.8 21.0 24.6 25.8 19.5 24.0 29.3 
		
	
	
		
			 2011-12 
			  Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar 
			 (i) National             
			 (a) Income support 22.9 25.2 24.8 26.3 27.4 26.6 25.4 23.6 24.1 24.3 21.9 22.1 
			 (b) Tax credits 16.6 18.2 16.0 19.3 18.8 19.5 17.4 16.8 16.2 19.7 21.4 19.4 
			 (c) DLA 27.9 28.3 28.5 29.1 28.7 28.2 28.3 28.4 27.3 26.4 25.0 24.9 
			              
			 (ii) Hull             
			 (a) Income support 8.8 7.9 24.4 20.1 10.4 22.1 8.3 6.4 12.6 19.1 17.0 19.8 
			 (b) Tax credits 1.0 9.2 13.0 6.8 0.0 1.6 2.4 16.5 31.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 (c) DLA 23.0 24.5 24.8 28.7 28.5 31.1 31.2 32.8 26.7 28.6 27.8 29.5 
		
	
	
		
			 2012 
			  April May June 
			 (i) National    
			 (a) Income support 22.3 21.6 21.9 
			 (b)Tax credits 22.6 21.3 24.7 
			 (c) DLA 24.7 25.8 25.1 
			     
		
	
	
		
			 (ii) Hull(2)    
			 (a) Income support 8.4 9.5 45.0 
			 (b) Tax credits 0.0 47.8 25.8 
			 (c) DLA 32.1 26.8 27.0 
			 (1) Tax credit comprises of four benefits: child tax credit, working families tax credit, working tax credit and family credit. (2) Data by venue can be volatile. The number of appeals dealt with can be very low particularly when broken down by individual benefit. One long running case can therefore significantly affect average times. Note : These data are taken from management information 
		
	
	The total number of disposals in the jurisdiction has increased significantly from 279,000 in 2009-10 to 380,000 in 2010-11, and 433,600 appeals in 2011-12. HMCTS continues to work hard at a national level to increase the capacity of the SSCS Tribunal and reduce waiting times—specifically recruitment of additional judges and medically qualified members is carried out on an ongoing basis within the jurisdictions; the review and continuous improvement of administrative processes both internally and between HMCTS and DWP; work to increase judicial sitting capacity by improving the processes used to allocate judges and members to sessions; further increasing the use of Saturday sessions as well as rolling out a three-session day, where feasible, following a successful pilot in Glasgow. Work is also ongoing to identify additional suitable hearing rooms in Hull in order to increase the tribunal’s hearing capacity in that area.

TRANSPORT

A12

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans his Department has to provide funding for investment to upgrade the A12.

Stephen Hammond: The Highways Agency has a £1.4 million programme of enhancements for the A12 in 2012-13. The Department has no current plans for a major road project on the A12.
	The Highways Agency is currently developing a route based strategy for the A12 from its junction with the M25 to its junction with the A14, which when completed will help inform the identification of future needs for the route.

A66

Rory Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will develop dual carriageway roads on the A66 between Scotch Corner and Penrith.

Stephen Hammond: The Department has no current plans to develop proposals for dual carriageway roads on the A66 between Scotch Corner and Penrith.
	In preparing for future investment decisions, the Department will consider the current and future forecast performance of the strategic road network to identify and prioritise the scale of identified problems.

Bus Services

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what regulatory powers govern the operation of (a) Quality Contracts, (b) Quality Partnerships and (c) Better Bus Areas; and how much his Department has made available to each type of scheme in the latest period for which figures are available.

Norman Baker: The regulations governing the operation of Quality Contract and Quality Partnership Schemes are set out in the Transport Act 2000 (as amended by the Local Transport Act 2008) and the supporting secondary legislation:
	The Quality Partnership Schemes (England) Regulations 2009
	The Quality Partnership Schemes (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2009
	The Public Service Vehicles (Registration of Local Services) (Quality Contracts Schemes) (England and Wales) Regulations 2009
	The Quality Contracts Schemes (Pension Protections) 2009
	The Quality Contracts Schemes (Application of TUPE) Regulations 2009.
	Statutory guidance is available online at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/improving-local-transport/supporting-pages/increasing-the-use-of-buses
	and can be made available in the Library of the House.
	Quality Partnership Schemes do not attract specific central Government funding, but are in operation in the following areas that successfully bid for Better Bus Area funding in 2012: Bristol, Merseyside, Nottingham, South Yorkshire and the West Midlands. The full breakdown of Better Bus Area funds awarded to successful local authorities in March 2012 is as follows:
	
		
			 £ 
			 Local authority Capital Revenue 
			 Bedford 98,620 119,550 
			 Blackpool 1,032,000 41,000 
			 Bournemouth 2,434,000 1,001,000 
			 Bracknell 121,200 178,800 
			 Brighton and Hove 2,100,000 1,380,000 
			 Bristol 4,079,000 907,000 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,462,000 262,000 
			 Derby 1,116,000 1,060,000 
			 Greater Manchester ITA 3,522,000 1,477,000 
			 Hampshire 3,590,760 886,440 
			 Leicestershire 2,241,800 320,300 
			 Merseyside ITA 4,184,000 23,000 
			 Milton Keynes 872,000 1,358,000 
			 Norfolk 1,981,200 602,100 
			 Nottingham 3,080,000 1,828,000 
			 Slough 1,415,000 0 
			 South Yorkshire 2,512,000 2,396,000 
			 Southend on Sea 1,292,000 285,000 
			 Torbay 400,000 114,700 
			 Tyne and Wear ITA 3,889,000 1,083,000 
			 West Midlands 3,000,000 2,000,000 
			 West Yorkshire 2,387,600 2,587,400 
			 Wiltshire 354,320 40,000 
			 York 1,765,000 1,160,000 
			 Total 48,929,500 21,110,290 
			 Total capital and revenue  70,039,790 
		
	
	There are no Quality Contract Schemes currently in operation. No decision has yet been made on the funding or regulatory arrangements for future Better Bus Areas as part of the Government's proposals for the devolution of Bus Service Operators' Grant.

Bus Services: Finance

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has allocated to each transport authority as part of the better bus area fund.

Norman Baker: The Better Bus Area concept is designed to provide financial encouragement for partnership working between local authorities and local bus operators, with an aim of increasing bus patronage and support the Department's aims of creating growth and cutting carbon. Numerous bids were received and evaluated in the first stage, with a total of 24 successful local transport authorities being awarded a total of just over £70m in March 2012.
	The breakdown of funds awarded to successful local authorities was as follows:
	
		
			 Local Authority Capital (£s) Revenue (£s) 
			 Bedford 98,620 119,550 
			 Blackpool 1,032,000 41,000 
			 Bournemouth 2,434,000 1,001,000 
			 Bracknell 121,200 178,800 
			 Brighton & Hove 2,100,000 1,380,000 
			 Bristol 4,079,000 907,000 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,462,000 262,000 
			 Derby 1,116,000 1,060,000 
			 Greater Manchester ITA 3,522,000 1,477,000 
			 Hampshire 3,590,760 886,440 
			 Leicestershire 2,241,800 320,300 
			 Merseyside ITA 4,184,000 23,000 
			 Milton Keynes 872,000 1,358,000 
			 Norfolk 1,981,200 602,100 
			 Nottingham 3,080,000 1,828,000 
			 Slough 1,415,000 0 
			 South Yorkshire 2,512,000 2,396,000 
			 Southend on Sea 1,292,000 285,000 
			 Torbay 400,000 114,700 
			 Tyne and Wear ITA 3,889,000 1,083,000 
			 West Midlands 3,000,000 2,000,000 
			 West Yorkshire 2,387,600 2,587,400 
			 Wiltshire 354,320 40,000 
			 York 1,765,000 1,160,000 
			 Total 48,929,500 21,110,290 
			  70,039,790

Bus Services: Tyne and Wear

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many recipients of free bus passes there were in (a) Tyne and Wear and (b) Sunderland in each year for which figures are available.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport's survey of Travel Concession Authorities (TCAs) in 2011 showed that in Tyne and Wear 242,000 bus passes were on issue to residents in the financial year 2011/12. Further information is published in Table Bus0890 at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/bus08-concessionary-travel
	The Department does not have information for Sunderland as it is a lower tier local authority which is not a TCA.

Driver And Vehicle Licensing Agency

Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what arrangements are in place for the processing of biometric cards when DVLA is made aware of the compassionate circumstances of the applicants; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is responsible purely for the production of the Biometric Residence Permit card on behalf of the UK Border Agency. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency would not be aware of the status of any application and is unable to intervene in any way.

Driver And Vehicle Licensing Agency

Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what arrangements are in place for the issuing by DVLA of biometric cards on behalf of the UK Border Agency; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency receives data files for the Biometric Residence Permit from the UK Border Agency on a daily basis. The cards are usually produced and despatched within 18 hours of receipt. All the data files are deleted once the cards have been successfully produced.

Driver And Vehicle Licensing Agency

Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average timescale is for issuing biometric cards by DVLA when they receive notification from the UK Border Agency; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: Biometric residence permit cards are usually produced and despatched within 18 hours of receipt of the data files being received at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency from the UK Border Agency.

Driving: Licensing

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the number of individuals driving in the UK on (a) driving licences issued inside the European Union and (b) driving licences issued outside the European Union; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: The law allows drivers from the European Community to drive until they reach the age of 70 (or the age of 45 for holders of bus and lorry licences), while drivers from outside the European Union may drive here for up to 12 months from their date of last entry to the UK. Information on those driving on licences issued outside the UK is not recorded.

Driving: Licensing

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to reduce the number of non-UK driving licence holders who do not apply for a full UK driving licence within 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: The law already requires driving licence holders from outside the European Community to exchange their driving licence or pass the relevant driving test if they wish to continue driving beyond 12 months. Those who fail to do so commit an offence. Enforcement is a matter for the police and the courts. Drivers who continue to drive beyond the 12 month period commit an offence and risk a fine of up to £1,000 and three to six penalty points.

Heathrow Airport

Mary Macleod: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent research his Department commissioned on (a) noise and (b) health effects on local communities of the Operational Freedoms trials at Heathrow airport.

Simon Burns: The operational freedoms trial is being run by Heathrow Airport Ltd, which is regularly publishing data in consultation with stakeholders. The UK's independent aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), has been appointed to supervise the operational freedoms trial. The CAA will supplement the airport's analysis with its own assessment of the positive and negative impacts of the measures being trialled, including on noise.
	The Government's decisions on operational freedoms at Heathrow will follow public consultation, which will be a further opportunity for local authorities, residents and other stakeholders to express their views and submit evidence on the impacts of the trial.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many new public sector jobs have been created to promote HS2; and what the cost to the public purse is of such jobs.

Simon Burns: There are 10 permanent jobs within the HS2 Ltd Communications team engaged in the promotion of HS2 plus two jobs which are fixed term appointments. These fixed term appointments are due to end in March 2013 and July 2013 respectively.
	The total cost of employment of all 12 roles is £45,559 per calendar month, including pay and employer NI and pension contributions.

M23: West Sussex

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he plans to take to reduce the effect on nearby residents of noise levels from the M23 in West Sussex.

Stephen Hammond: Any steps to reduce the effect on residents of traffic noise from the M23 in West Sussex will be taken in line with the environmental noise regulations and through the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' (DEFRA) noise action plans, which have been prepared in accordance with these regulations.
	DEFRA's noise action plans have identified two Important Areas, with First Priority Locations along the M23 near Pound Hill and Worth. Investigations by the Highways Agency has identified the most effective noise mitigation measures for these areas as resurfacing with a low noise surface. In accordance with current maintenance policy, resurfacing is carried out at the end of the asset life.
	The Agency has no specific schemes allocated in its four-year forward programme for low noise surfacing in West Sussex, although localised repairs may be undertaken to keep the carriageway safe and serviceable.
	An Important Area without First Priority Locations has also been identified on the M23 near Burleys Wood. The Agency will shortly be carrying out investigations to identify what, if any, noise mitigation measures could address the noise issues identified.

Midland Main Railway Line

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will ensure that a requirement for new electric trains forms part of the specification for the renewal of the Midland Mainline franchise in 2015.

Simon Burns: It is very unlikely that we would let a franchise on a line currently undergoing electrification on terms that did not include a commitment to run electric trains on that line.
	However we would wait until we carried out a full consultation with industry stakeholders and the public before deciding what specific terms to include in the Invitation to Tender.

Oxford Economic Research Associates

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many meetings (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had with Oxera since 1 January 2012.

Norman Baker: Staff from the Department for Transport routinely meet a range of organisations from both the public and private sectors. The Department does not, as a matter of routine, collect data on the total number of meetings by staff with specific organisations.
	Details of Ministerial and Permanent Secretary meetings with external organisations are routinely published every quarter and information can be accessed on the Gov.Uk website via the following links:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-transparency-data
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/permanent-secretary-meetings-with-external-organisations
	Information covering the period up to the end of December 2012 will be published in due course.

Parking Attendants

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to ensure that anyone working in a parking enforcement company and who has access to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency register of vehicle owners is registered with the Security Industry Authority.

Stephen Hammond: Private parking management companies wishing to request vehicle keeper information from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency must meet the appropriate legislative and contractual requirements. They are also required to maintain membership of an accredited trade association and ensure their operations comply with a code of practice. The British Parking Association is currently the only accredited trade association for the parking industry.
	Parking enforcement operatives are required to register with the Security Industry Authority only if they are involved in vehicle immobilisation.

Railways: Freight

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the answer of 26 March 2012, Official Report, columns 947-8W, on aviation: Hertfordshire, whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had any discussions on (i) the Helioslough Radlett rail freight exchange proposal and (ii) other rail freight issues since May 2012; and whether he has received any representations on these issues since May 2012.

Simon Burns: Neither Ministers nor officials have held any discussions on the Helioslough Radlett rail freight exchange proposal since May 2012. I received a meeting request from the director of Helioslough in November 2012 which I declined. All other representations have been redirected to the Department for Communities and Local Government.
	The Freight Minister and I also received representations in November 2012 relating to proposed developments at Colnbrook and at Daventry, to which I responded that the proposals in question are currently in the planning system and therefore subject to decision from the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.
	Ministers and officials have regular discussions with a number of bodies on the broader rail freight issues in which the Department for Transport has a policy interest.

Railways: Safety

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what safety measures have been implemented since the Tebay rail accident.

Simon Burns: The RSSB (formally the Rail Safety and Standards Board) held an independent inquiry into the Tebay accident of 15 February 2004. Its report, “Track Worker Fatalities at Tebay on 15 February 2004”, was published in October 2004 (a summary is available from
	www.rssb.co.uk/LEARNING/Documents/FI2884.pdf
	and contained 12 recommendations. All have been successfully implemented.
	In February 2012 Network Rail announced plans to spend £5 million to further improve the safety of its road-rail vehicles ("RRVs") by adding extra disc brakes to more than 300-flat trolleys used to move materials to and from railway worksites. It is also developing a secondary protection and warning system, with the close involvement of rail unions, and other measures aimed at reducing the risks of and from runaway vehicles.
	In the longer term, Network Rail is seeking to design and develop a new generation of RRVs specifically built for use on the railway. The Office of Rail Regulation, the industry's independent health and safety regulator, has had a focused inspection programme looking to improve the safe use of RRVs since 2009 and plans to continue monitoring whether the industry is controlling the risk from and to the use of RRVs in 2013-14, including Network Rail's development of a new generation of RRVs.

Roads: Snow and Ice

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to educate people on the dangers of driving in ice and snow.

Stephen Hammond: Rules 226 to 237 of the Highway Code provide practical advice on driving in adverse weather conditions. In particular, rules 228 to 231 relate specifically to icy and snowy weather. In addition the Highways Agency website has also published seasonal advice on planning journeys and driving safely in different kinds of weather, including winter conditions.

Rolling Stock: Procurement

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what savings he expects to be made through the reductions in replacement and repair of rail track following the Intercity Express programme.

Simon Burns: The Department for Transport estimates the Intercity Express programme trains will see a reduction of approximately 38% in variable track access charges per seat-mile compared with existing high speed trains. Variable track access charges can be used as a proxy for track wear costs.

Shipping Lanes

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to (a) maintain and (b) increase usage of the shipping lane between Barrow and Douglas.

Stephen Hammond: The Government works closely with public and private stakeholders to facilitate maritime trade and improve maritime safety and prevent pollution. There are no specific measures in place by the Government in relation to the Barrow to Douglas maritime route.

Transport: Finance

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether transport authorities opting for a Quality Contract Scheme are exempt from transport improvement funds.

Norman Baker: There are currently no barriers that prevent local transport authorities considering or planning Quality Contract Schemes from receiving central Government funding. Tyne and Wear ITA and West Yorkshire ITA both received Better Bus Area funding in 2012.
	No decision has yet been taken on the treatment of Quality Contract Schemes under the proposed devolution of bus service operators' grant.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his Department's policy is on the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to take photographs and conduct surveillance in the UK.

Simon Burns: The Government recognises the potential of unmanned aircraft systems, now referred to as Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), in a variety of civil applications, particularly in crisis management situations. The ability to stay on station for prolonged periods of time with cameras and other sensors without the need to refuel or consider pilot fatigue makes them ideal for monitoring disaster and security events or for other environmental applications, such as crop and vegetation monitoring. Police forces, fire services and a growing number of farmers are all showing an interest in operating RPAS. However, we recognise there are some concerns from the general public about the use of RPAS in urban areas, particularly in relation to privacy and data protection. Operators are required to take into consideration European and national legislation, such as the Data Protection Act and Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, when conducting operations and ensure that data is managed sensitively and securely in accordance with these rules. We do not believe that any additional regulatory changes are needed to ensure adequate privacy and data protection.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Nurseries

Michael Fabricant: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many places are available for children at the House of Commons nursery; and what the average usage of the nursery has been between Monday and Thursday when the House has been sitting, over the last 12 months for which figures are available.

John Thurso: The House of Commons nursery has the capacity to care for 40 children, of which no more than 15 can be under the age of two. During 2012 the average usage of the nursery on Mondays to Thursdays when the House was sitting was 32.5%. Following a publicity campaign, usage is increasing with three new children starting this month.

DEFENCE

Aircraft Carriers

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to ensure that aircraft carriers do not sail without proper air support.

Philip Dunne: The level of air support required by the Queen Elizabeth carriers will be assessed prior to deployment by the appropriate operational authority taking into account all relevant factors, including the level of threat.

Armed Forces: Rape

Duncan Hames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 25 October 2012, Official Report, column 986W, on Royal Military Police: sexual offences, whether information relating to the number of rape allegations reported to the Royal Military Police is now held centrally; whether information on the number of such allegations made in each year between 2001 and 2012 is now available; if he will publish any such information; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: The information for the full period from 2000 is not held centrally and to provide figures of each reported allegation of rape and sexual assault would require a manual check of the records incurring disproportionate cost.
	However, I can advise that the total number of rape cases including attempted rape cases, reported to and dealt with by the Royal Military Police, where the Royal Military Police have jurisdiction and the investigative lead since the implementation of the Armed Forces Act 2006 on 31 October 2009, are as follows:
	
		
			  Total 
			 2009 (from 31 October) 4 
			 2010 25 
			 2011 21 
			 2012 (until 30 September) 19

Crime: Victims

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the potential effects on matters for which his Department is responsible of the recently adopted Directive 2012/29/EU establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) worked closely with the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to ensure MOD interests were taken into account as MOJ led the negotiations on the UK Government position on directive 2012/29/EU. This included a joint assessment of provisions in the directive where we judged that clarification of the intended effect on the Service Justice System was required, as applied both inside and outside of the EU. The directive, as adopted, addresses these areas such that any associated administrative burden on the Service Justice System has been mitigated. At the same time, it ensures a commitment to safeguarding the rights of victims in cases that involve the armed forces.

Defence: Procurement

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which of his Department's procurement projects are on hold pending the announcement of the French Government's defence spending review.

Philip Dunne: Under the Lancaster House treaty, the UK and France agreed to take forward a broad portfolio of co-operation on equipment and capabilities to meet our present and future defence and security interests. These are set out in the summit declaration on security and defence made in February 2012.
	The French Government is currently conducting a defence review. This is informing the French Government's approach to the Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon (Heavy), on which the Ministry of Defence continues actively to engage with France at all levels, including my own discussions at the High Level Working Group in November 2012 and subsequently with senior French officials. Other co-operative equipment projects with France are at present unaffected.

Departmental Responsibilities

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's top three policy implementation (a) successes and (b) failures have been since May 2010.

Andrew Robathan: I refer the hon. Member to the second annual report of progress in implementing the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review, presented to the House on 29 November 2012, Official Report, column 26WS, by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on behalf of the Deputy Prime Minister and other members of the National Security Council.

Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Future Strategic Air Tanker project is on course to meet its contractual requirements by 2014.

Philip Dunne: The Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft project is on track to achieve its In Service Date in May 2014.

HMS Vanguard

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator has been asked to provide any advice on the feasibility of docking of an armed Vanguard class submarine at any site other than HMNB Clyde.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which UK ports other than HMNB Clyde have a safety case that permits the berthing of an armed Vanguard class submarine.

Philip Dunne: The Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator (DNSR) has not been asked to provide advice on the feasibility of berthing, including docking, an armed Vanguard class submarine at any site other than Her Majesty's Naval Base Clyde.
	As the Secretary of State for Defence's independent regulator of defence nuclear activities, DNSR specifies safety goals and objectives; operators are responsible for demonstrating that activities are safe, and for identifying and implementing suitable procedures and systems. DNSR reserves final judgment on a given matter until regulatory consent is officially sought. This position is fundamental in ensuring DNSR remains objective when assessing the safety implications of an activity.
	DNSR has granted permission for the berthing of armed Vanguard class submarines at Loch Goil in the UK. Permission to use an anchorage in the Firth of Clyde is currently under consideration. Armed Vanguard class submarines may also berth in suitable US and French naval facilities, accepting that, as operators of nuclear powered warships (NPW), both nations have suitable facilities for UK NPW.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the structural durability of the bulkhead of the F-35B aircraft.

Philip Dunne: All aircraft variants of F-35 are currently within the development test phase of the overall programme. The aim of the development test phase is to reveal issues through testing so that solutions can be developed in order to deliver a capable aircraft to the armed forces.
	A planned element of the development test programme is laboratory-based fatigue and durability testing of the aircraft structure. The fatigue and durability tests are intended to highlight structural deficiencies prior to their appearance on production aircraft, thus allowing fixes or redesigns to be implemented.
	The fatigue and durability tests that have been conducted have highlighted some structural issues that will require design solutions to resolve, which are currently being developed. This is normal aircraft development.

Members: Correspondence

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he intends to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for North East Fife of 19 November 2012 on the ministerial correction of 18 September 2012, Official Report, column 7MC.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has no record of receiving the letter from the right hon. Member for North East Fife. The MOD requested a copy of the letter on 14 January 2013 and will respond shortly.

Military Aircraft

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what capabilities the UK armed forces have to utilise fixed-wing strike aircraft in defence of the Falkland Islands, other than from an airbase on those islands; what assessment he has made of the extent to which those capabilities address the shortfall in strike aircraft arising from the decommissioning of HMS Ark Royal; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence is confident that we have right capabilities to ensure the defence of the Falkland Islands. We retain the ability to reinforce the Falkland Islands should the need arise.

Nuclear Disarmament

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what resources have been allocated to nuclear disarmament-related research by (a) his Department and (b) the Atomic Weapons Establishment in each year since 2010-11.

Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not undertake nuclear disarmament research internally. The MOD funds Nuclear Arms Control and Verification Research at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) where a core team of five personnel are dedicated to the programme drawing on expertise and resources from other parts of AWE and the MOD as necessary.
	In financial year 2010-11 the funding was £2.227 million and in financial year 2011-12 it was £2.125 million. Figures for those additional resources drawn from other AWE programmes could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Nuclear Submarines

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the recent National Audit Office report on Ministry of Defence Major Projects 2012, if he will place in the Library copies, redacted as necessary, of (a) the Review Note on progress with the successor submarine programme that was submitted to his Departmental Investment Approvals (IA) Committee in July 2012, (b) the Review Note on the successor Common Missile Compartment regarding the build location which was submitted to the IA Committee in 2012 and (c) the Whole Boat Strategic Concept Design review report for the successor nuclear submarine programme.

Philip Dunne: The United Kingdom's Future Nuclear Deterrent: 2012 Update to Parliament was placed in the Library of the House on 19 December 2012 and includes information taken from the documents requested.
	I am withholding further information from these documents for the purpose of safeguarding national security and because their disclosure would prejudice commercial interests, international relations and the defence of the UK and because they relate to the formulation of Government policy.

Nuclear Weapons

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the Coalition Agreement Programme for Government, page 45, published May 2010, when the stockpile of operationally available nuclear warheads was reduced to fewer than 120; when the overall number of nuclear warheads was reduced to no more than 180; what has been done with the fissile material from the withdrawn warheads; and whether this nuclear material has been placed under international safeguards.

Philip Dunne: These changes to the nuclear weapon stockpile were announced in the strategic defence and security review (SDSR) in October 2010.
	The Government does not comment upon the operational programme and therefore more detail of this implementation programme will not be given at this time. As we set out in the SDSR, we will reduce the overall stockpile of nuclear warheads to no more than 180 by the mid 2020s.
	Once processed, the material from dismantled warheads is returned to the MOD nuclear material stockpile. It is not government policy to place this material under international safeguards.

Shipping

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of vessels chartered by the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Royal Fleet Auxiliary and (c) Ministry of Defence were (i) non-UK flagged and (ii) crewed by non-UK nationals in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Philip Dunne: For the movement of cargo by sea, strategic support is primarily provided through the private finance initiative Strategic Sealift Service, which comprises four British flagged roll-on/roll-off vessels, manned by British mercantile marine officers and crews. If required, additional sealift capacity is chartered by means of competitive tenders and in 2012, three commercial ships were chartered in this way. All three were non-British flagged and operated by non-British officers and crews.
	A further three commercial vessels were also chartered in 2012 under separate arrangements to provide marine recovery and salvage assistance. One of these vessels was non-British flagged and manned by non-British officers and crew.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has any plans for the use of MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles in Afghanistan after 2014 in an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance role.

Philip Dunne: No decisions have yet been taken on what, if any, equipment platforms will remain in Afghanistan post 2014.

Veterans: Employment

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in which sectors those leaving the armed forces in 2011-12 found long-term employment.

Mark Francois: holding answer 18 January 2013
	Service leavers leave the military with a range of skills and abilities which are transferable for civilian life and civilian employment. Consequently, personnel who leave the military enter a wide range of civilian employment sectors; from security to engineering, from health care to senior management roles. We continue to work with industry to ensure sufficient opportunities are afforded to our servicemen and women and that our people are prepared and suitably qualified in order to make a successful transition to civilian life.

Wind Power: Carmarthenshire

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons his Department (a) opposed the Bryn Llywelyn wind farm within TAN 8 Strategic Area G and (b) did not oppose the proposed Brechfa West development within the same strategic area.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence does not now object to either wind farm proposal.
	However, Carmarthenshire council have objected to the Bryn Llewellyn application.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Biomass

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he has reviewed the level of renewable obligation certificates support to various business technologies since the publication in December 2011 of the Committee on Climate Change's Biomass Review; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: The levels of support for all renewable technologies were considered as part of the recent Renewables Obligation Banding Review. The review proposed new support levels for the period 2013-17. The detailed proposals, including the position on various sources of biomass generation, are explained in two Banding Review Government Response documents:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/cons_ro_review/cons_ro_review.aspx#
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/consultation/ro-banding/7328-renewables-obligation-banding-review-for-the-perio.pdf

Electricity Generation

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department has made of the capacity margin for electricity generation; what the margin will be in 2015; and what assessment he has made of the desirable level of capacity margin.

John Hayes: In November 2012 DECC published its response to the Ofgem Electricity Capacity Assessment as an annex to the Statutory Security of Supply Report. In its base case scenario, DECC projected that the de-rated capacity margin(1) for winter 2012-13 would be around 19%.
	Our base case projection for the de-rated capacity margin in the winter of 2014-15 was 13.8% and for 2015-16 was 14.4%.
	More information on how DECC estimated its projections of de-rated capacity margin and how these compare with the capacity margins in Ofgem's Electricity Capacity Assessment can be found at the following link:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc11/meeting-energy-demand/energy-security/7073-statutory-security-of-supply-report.pdf
	The Government has not made a formal assessment of the desired level of capacity margin. In the analysis and modelling that we have undertaken to inform decisions on Electricity Market Reform we have instead used a de-rated capacity margin of around 10% as a proxy for a future reliability standard. This is based on past precedent rather than a formal assessment of the desired capacity margin.
	Government plans to develop a formal reliability standard and to consult on it in the draft Electricity Market Reform Delivery Plan to be published in July of this year.
	(1) The de-rated capacity margin is the capacity margin adjusted to take account of the availability of generating capacity, specific to each type of generation technology. It reflects the expected proportion of a source of electricity which is likely to be technically available to generate (even though a company may choose not to utilise this capacity for commercial reasons).

Energy: Billing

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what progress his Department has made on examining barriers to collective energy purchases.

Gregory Barker: The Department set up a working group on collective purchasing and switching in November 2011 to look at different collective purchasing and switching models and identify any barriers preventing consumers coming together and getting a better deal. Following the group's recommendations, the Department published guidance to help consumers and organisations interested in setting up group switching schemes, and Ofgem published guidance on the relevant licence requirements for energy suppliers.
	The Department recently ran a competition—Cheaper Energy Together—to support collective switching and purchasing schemes across the country with innovative approaches to engage with vulnerable consumers. A fund of £5 million was available and we received 114 applications, of which 31 were successful in obtaining funding. We will be evaluating these schemes to see if there are any further barriers that need addressing.

Energy: Care Homes

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will introduce a new energy tariff to reduce energy costs for residential care homes.

Gregory Barker: Electricity and gas tariffs for both domestic and non domestic consumers are a commercial matter for energy suppliers.
	In the non domestic sector it is usual for customers to have bespoke tariffs with suppliers. This allows them the flexibility to negotiate contractual terms and prices that suit their individual circumstances. Non-domestic customers will also be able to reduce their energy costs by installing packages of energy saving technologies under the Green Deal.

Fracking

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the risks to public safety of naturally occurring radon gas mixed with shale gas obtained from hydraulic fracturing; and what methods are used to separate the radon from the methane in shale gas prior to delivery to domestic consumers.

John Hayes: All gas supplied to domestic customers is subject to stringent standards as to its composition. Gas which does not meet these standards will not be accepted for transportation through the National Transmission System.

Fuel Poverty: Birmingham

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of the number of households in fuel poverty in Birmingham, Hall Green constituency.

Gregory Barker: In 2010, the latest year for which data is available, the number of households in fuel poverty in Birmingham Hall Green was estimated to be 9,100.
	Fuel poverty statistics for 2011 are due to be released in May 2013. These can generally be found at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/fuelpov_stats/regional/regional.aspx

Natural Gas: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much gas is used in Wales each year.

John Hayes: Annual gas consumption statistics for Wales are available for the years 2005 to 2011 and are shown in the following table.
	The statistics cover gas distributed via the National Transmission System, and exclude any gas passing through other transmission and distribution systems such as those owned by North sea producers. The data only relate to distribution and exclude large loads fed directly from the National Transmission System (such as certain power stations and large industrial consumers).
	Estimates are weather-corrected and cover the gas year between 1 October to 30 September (for example, 2011 data covers gas consumption between 1 October 2010 to 30 September 2011).
	
		
			 Gas consumption in Wales between 2005 and 2011 
			  Gas consumption in Wales (GWh) 
			 2005 34,311 
			 2006 32,401 
			 2007 30,938 
		
	
	
		
			 2008 29,684 
			 2009 26,989 
			 2010 26,469 
			 2011 24,688 
		
	
	Details of all methodologies used to compile the statistics can be found at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/regional/regional.aspx
	Sub-national gas consumption datasets can be accessed from:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/energy_stats/regional/gas/gas.aspx

Public Relations

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what contracts for PR services have been awarded by his Department in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what their monetary value was.

Gregory Barker: DECC has appointed Freud Communications through the Government Procurement Services frameworks to develop and deliver a communication campaign to build awareness and understanding of the Green Deal. We have estimated the total cost excluding VAT to be £410,000.

Renewable Energy

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the standards of installation of (a) heat pumps and (b) solar power installations; and whether he has received any information on the level of related consumer complaints.

Gregory Barker: The Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS), which is led by industry and other stakeholders in the sector, is responsible for driving improvements in the installation of the full range of microgeneration technologies, including heat pumps and solar photovoltaic panels.
	The MCS installation standards for solar photovoltaic and heat pumps have been extensively revised in the last 18 months reflecting the learning from field trials and previous Government support schemes.
	The revised MCS heat pump standard was published in September 2011 and was reinforced with awareness and training seminars for installers. It was further updated in February 2012.
	A new solar photovoltaic guide will be published shortly and become a mandatory requirement for installers. In addition, a new Solar Centre was launched this month, run by the Building Research Establishment, which will promote best practice, help police standards and develop design and installation courses.
	Since 1 August 2012, when a central complaints register was in place, MCS has received 130 complaints primarily relating to technical issues. In the last 12 months the REAL Consumer Code has received 1,050 complaints, which cover a range of issues such as mis-selling, failure to return deposits, incorrect performance estimates, failure to provide handover packs and failure to provide or honour workmanship guarantees.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Cycling

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2013, Official Report, column 737W, on cycling, how many of his Department's staff participate in the Cycle to Work Scheme; and how much this has cost his Department in each year since May 2010.

Brandon Lewis: The Department operates a Cycle to Work Scheme whereby staff are able to hire a bicycle tax-free enabling them to cycle to work, with the option to purchase the bike at the end of the hire period. This helps to tackle congestion, reduce carbon emissions and enables staff to live a healthy lifestyle, reducing potential sickness absence and cost to the Department.
	The scheme also helps support independent bike shops. More information can be found at:
	www.cyclescheme.co.uk
	60 staff have participated under the scheme since January 2010. Assisted by the participation of the private sector, the net cost of these reimbursements to the Department is nil as the money is paid back by individual members of staff over a 12 month period from their gross salary.

Housing: Construction

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the (a) New Homes Bonus and (b) Community Infrastructure Levy in incentivising communities to accept developments; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: The New Homes Bonus is a powerful, simple, transparent and permanent incentive for local authorities and communities to increase their aspirations for housing growth. Since its inception the New Homes Bonus has totalled nearly £1.3 billion. As New Homes Bonus is an un-ringfenced grant, local authorities decide how to spend the Bonus, since we believe they are in the best position to make decisions about local priorities. As set out in the published Impact Assessment of the scheme, the Government is committed to the success of the New Homes Bonus. We will formally consider the impact of the scheme in 2013-14.
	The Community Infrastructure Levy is fast, fair, and transparent. It supports growth and unlocks development by providing key infrastructure. While it is still early days for the levy, my recent announcement to provide incentives to neighbourhoods that accept development in their area will help ensure that more homes are built.

Housing: Crime Prevention

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the proportion of new homes that used the Secured by Design standard in each of the last five years.

Don Foster: This information is not currently held centrally. Homes designed to standards in the Code for Sustainable Homes may include the Secured by Design standard as part of the design. The Department holds information on the number of Secured by Design assessments undertaken by homes which are built to the Code for Sustainable Homes, but this information is not sufficiently robust at present to provide an estimate of the proportion of all new homes that use the Secured by Design standard. However, as part of the review of the framework of building regulations and local housing standards, the Department is investigating whether this information can be augmented by other information to develop such an estimate.

Property Development: Birmingham

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the Birmingham development plan, whether an environmental impact assessment will be carried out to establish the environmental effects of building on green belt land.

Nicholas Boles: This is a matter for Birmingham city council. Notwithstanding, I would note that green belt policy in the National Planning Policy Framework is clear that most forms of development are inappropriate other than in very special circumstances. Similarly, green belt boundaries should not be altered other than in very special circumstances through the preparation or review of local plans. All local plans are subject to the requirements of the Strategic Environmental Assessment directive and therefore the environmental effects of any proposed policies to be included in the local plan, including reference to the green belt, must be assessed. In addition, a local planning authority must demonstrate that its plan is founded on a credible evidence base, takes into account views of the local community and other interested parties, is legally compliant and has regard to national policy.

Railways: Freight

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 30 April 2012, Official Report, column 1113W, on railways: Radlett, whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had any discussions on (i) the Helioslough Radlett rail freight exchange proposal and (ii) other rail freight issues since May 2012; and whether they have received any representations on such issues since May 2012.

Nicholas Boles: As part of the Department's transparency programme, details of meetings between DCLG Ministers and external organisations are published on our website.
	Information about discussions held by Ministers and about meetings or discussions held by officials is not centrally held and could be provided only at disproportionate costs.
	All representatives of the Department act in accordance with “Guidance on Planning Propriety Issues”, which is published at:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/planning-propriety-issues-guidance
	On the matter of representations on the Radlett proposal, I refer my hon. Friend to my answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Hertsmere (Mr Clappison) on 17 January 2013, Official Report, column 908W. Information on representations on other rail freight issues is not centrally held and could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

Railways: Radlett

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment or evaluation he has made of the wider economic benefits of the Radlett Rail Freight proposal.

Nicholas Boles: The Secretary of State’s letter of 20 December 2012 sets out his assessment of the Radlett Rail Freight proposal.

Shops: Empty Property

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what statistics his Department collects on shop vacancy rates by locality.

Mark Prisk: My Department does not produce statistics on shop vacancy rates.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Crown Prosecution Service

Philip Davies: To ask the Attorney-General pursuant to the answer of 13 December 2012, Official Report, column 405W, on Crown Prosecution Service, with what offences the 263 defendants whose committal for trial was recorded as CPS not ready-adjournment refused were charged; and how many such defendants were subsequently re-charged.

Dominic Grieve: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) categorise prosecutions according to the most serious offence with which a defendant was charged at the time the case was finalised. The principal offences of the 263 defendants whose committal for trial was discharged and recorded as 'CPS not ready-adjournment refused' are as follows:
	
		
			  Defendants finalised 
			 Offences Against The Person 40 
			 Sexual Offences 6 
			 Burglary 44 
			 Robbery 2 
			 Theft And Handling 34 
			 Fraud And Forgery 25 
			 Criminal Damage 1 
			 Drugs Offences 55 
			 Public Order Offences 18 
			 All Other Offences (excluding Motoring) 13 
			 Motoring Offences 8 
			 No category applied 17 
			 Total 263 
		
	
	The CPS maintains no central record of the number of defendants subsequently re-charged following a discharged committal. Such data could not be reasonably obtained locally or nationally other than by manually reviewing individual case files which would incur a disproportionate cost.

Legal Opinion: Treaties

Dominic Raab: To ask the Attorney-General what the Crown Prosecution Service's role in processing requests made under the UK's mutual legal assistance treaties is.

Dominic Grieve: Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) requests for evidence are dealt with by the United Kingdom Central Authority (UKCA) based in the Home Office. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) executes incoming requests for MLA from overseas territories, referred by the UKCA, to preserve and to recover assets (Asset Recovery Requests). The CPS sends outgoing Asset Recovery Requests to overseas territories, in accordance with Section 74 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA), so that those assets can be used to pay confiscation orders made in the English and Welsh courts. The CPS sends outgoing requests for evidence to overseas territories, in accordance with Section 7 of the Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003 (OCA), when it needs evidence for use in criminal investigations, criminal proceedings or other judicial proceedings, including any restraint, confiscation or enforcement proceedings. The CPS also has a role in non-Asset Recovery Requests.

Rape

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many cases were downgraded from rape to sexual assault by the Crown Prosecution Service following the initial hearing at the magistrates' court but before the first hearing at the Crown Court in each of the last four years.

Dominic Grieve: Information concerning the number of cases downgraded from rape to sexual assault by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) following the initial hearing at the magistrates court but before the first hearing at the Crown court is not available from the CPS case management system. These data cannot be reasonably obtained locally or nationally other than by undertaking a manual exercise of reviewing individual file records at a disproportionate cost.

Rape

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many allegations of rape were passed from the police to the Crown Prosecution Service for a charging decision in each of the last four years.

Dominic Grieve: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) case management system does not record individual allegations of rape passed by the police to the CPS for a charging decision. Instead it is used to record suspects whose cases are referred by the police for a charging decision. In the course of the last four financial years the following number of cases that were referred to the CPS for a charging decision were flagged as ‘rape' on the CPS system:
	
		
			  Number 
			 2008-09 6,597 
			 2009-10 6,783 
			 2010-11 8,130 
			 2011-12 6,822

Rape

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General on how many occasions the Crown Prosecution Service decided to take no further action on rape allegations passed to them by the police in each of the last four years.

Dominic Grieve: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) case management system is used to record suspects whose cases are referred by the police for a charging decision. In the course of the last four financial years the following number of rape-flagged cases that were referred to the CPS for a charging decision were the subject of a decision to take no further action:
	
		
			  Number 
			 2008-09 3,511 
			 2009-10 4,186 
			 2010-11 4,361 
			 2011-12 3,305

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Burma

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions she has had with the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator following her visit to Rakhine State and Kachin State, Burma.

Alan Duncan: The Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening) discussed Burma with the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator following the Secretary of State's visit to Rakhine State and Kachin State, Burma, on 10 December.

Burma

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will consider providing further humanitarian assistance to internally-displaced people in Kachin state through local community organisations.

Alan Duncan: DFID announced in December 2012 an additional £1.5 million of humanitarian support for people displaced by the conflict in Kachin, including in hard to reach areas and neighbouring states, bringing our total humanitarian aid contribution to the conflict in Kachin to £3.5 million. This makes the UK the largest bilateral contributor. We are monitoring the situation in Kachin closely, including the work of others providing humanitarian support. This will help inform any consideration of further UK assistance.

Burma

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to encourage the government of Burma to allow unhindered access for international humanitarian assistance to displaced peoples in all parts of Kachin state and Northern Shan state.

Alan Duncan: We continue to call for unhindered humanitarian access to conflict-affected areas at all every opportunity. The British ambassador to Burma last met senior members of the Burmese Government on Wednesday 16 January to raise our concerns about aid access.
	In response to increased need, the Department for International Development announced in December 2012 an additional £1.5 million of humanitarian support for people displaced by the conflict in Kachin, including in areas that are hard to reach and in neighbouring states, bringing our total humanitarian aid contribution to the conflict in Kachin to £3.5 million.

Developing Countries: Nature Conservation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the contribution her Department has made to the protection of endangered species through the creation of safe and secure livelihoods for people living in areas of concern.

Lynne Featherstone: The Department for International Development (DFID) considers promoting sustainable livelihoods to be a vital component of efforts to eradicate poverty and maintain a healthy natural resource base. International evidence indicates that supporting sustainable livelihoods in areas of concern not only reduces poor people's vulnerability to economic shocks such as the death of livestock, but also offers an effective strategy for protecting endangered species.
	DFID supports a number of programmes to promote sustainable livelihoods in biodiverse regions, both directly with developing countries and through partners such as the Global Environment Facility, the World Wildlife Fund and the United Nations. Our programmes on forestry, financed through the International Climate Fund, involve efforts to enhance community access to resources which support better livelihoods. For example, in Nepal DFID is helping to empower local communities to manage their forests and promote sustainable livelihoods in a region where endangered species such as tigers and red pandas can still be found.

Developing Countries: Sanitation

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to ensure safe access to sanitation services for women in developing countries.

Alan Duncan: As part of a significant scale-up of work on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), the Department for International Development (DFID) is ensuring that women and girls continue to be prioritised in the design and delivery of water and sanitation programmes. In our support to WASH in schools we are also ensuring that sufficient separate facilities are provided for girls, including facilities to help them manage their menstrual hygiene safely and with privacy.
	We offer women and girls a strong voice in how WASH projects are delivered, for instance through women's membership of local WASH decision-making committees. In our reporting we give gender-specific data wherever possible.

EU Aid

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions she has had with (a) her EU counterparts and (b) the European Commission on increasing supplies of humanitarian aid.

Lynne Featherstone: The Secretary of State for International Development has frequent discussions with EU counterparts and the European Commission on supplies of humanitarian aid, including discussion of specific humanitarian responses. These meetings include bilateral meetings, EU Development Ministers' meetings and broader meetings led by the United Nations.
	Discussions focus on improving coordination and ensuring that overall resources meet needs, with proportionate shares from all partners.

Tanzania

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent reports she has received on the efforts of the Tanzanian Government to protect the forest on Mount Kilimanjaro.

Alan Duncan: No reports have been submitted to the Secretary of State for International Development and there is no recent information or data on the state of forest protection on Mount Kilimanjaro. However DFID in Tanzania is engaged in the issue of forest governance and management with both the Government of Tanzania and civil society.
	Tanzania has a progressive forestry policy and legislation framework particularly in terms of promoting community-based forestry management, however there continue to be challenges in enforcement and managing deforestation. We have determined that Tanzanians themselves are best placed to drive this agenda forward and are supporting organisations such as the Tanzanian Natural Resource Forum (TNRF) and the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group (TFCG). Our support to these non-government actors is focused on improving forest governance and management at a national and local level but not specifically in the Mount Kilimanjaro area.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Catering

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has spent on catering and hospitality in each year since May 2010.

Richard Benyon: The total amount spent on catering and hospitality by core DEFRA since May 2010 through to the end of December 2012 is £959,625.
	
		
			 Period Total (£) 
			 May 2010 to March 2011 523,409 
			 April 2011 to March 2012 250,464 
			 April 2012 to end December 2012 185,752

Dairy Products and Eggs

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the level of imports from other EU countries was in each of the last three months of (a) milk, (b) other dairy products, (c) whole eggs and (d) other egg products.

David Heath: The volume of UK imports of (a) milk, (b) other dairy products, (c) whole eggs and (d) other egg products from other EU member states are shown in the table, as recorded in HM Revenue and Customs overseas trade statistics.
	The latest three months for which figures are available are August to October 2012.
	
		
			 UK imports from EU member states 
			  2012 
			 Type August September October 
			 Liquid Milk (million litres) 16.5 20.2 13.9 
			 Other dairy products(1) (thousand tonnes) 97.8 94.5 96.9 
			 Whole eggs in shell (thousand tonnes) 3.9 4.3 4.3 
			 Egg Products(2) (thousand tonnes) 3.8 3.3 3.9 
			 (1) Includes cheese, butter, cream, milk powder, yoghurt, ice cream, buttermilk, whey, condensed milk and other milk products. (2) Includes frozen, dried or liquid egg, albumen and yolks. Notes: 1. 2012 data is subject to amendments. 2. EU data based on EU 27. Data prepared by: Trade Statistics, Analysis and Evidence Team, DEFRA Source: HM Revenue and Customs

Dangerous Dogs

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether new guidance to help courts deal more effectively with seized dogs as announced in April 2012 has been issued.

David Heath: The guidance to the courts referred to in the DEFRA consultation of April 2012 on ways to tackle irresponsible dog ownership relates to the Sentencing Council's guidance on dangerous dogs cases. This guidance was updated and increased its recommended upper limits for such offences. The new guidance came into effect on 20 August 2012. DEFRA's proposal, made in the same consultation, to allow suspected prohibited-type dogs to remain with their owners while their cases are being dealt with, is a separate proposal and one we are considering along with the other proposals. An announcement about a way forward on all of the proposals set out in DEFRA's consultation of April 2012 will be made shortly.

Dangerous Dogs

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many companion dogs were (a) killed, (b) put down or (c) hurt after dog attacks in 2012;
	(2)  how many companion dogs were (a) killed and (b) hurt after dog attacks in 2012.

David Heath: This information is not held centrally.

Dangerous Dogs

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many dogs in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland were placed on the register of exempt dogs under section 4A and section 4B procedures under the Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Act 1997 in 2012; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: The total number of dogs placed on the register of exempted dogs in 2012 is as follows:
	
		
			  Number of dogs 
			 (a) England 451 
			 (b) Wales 24 
			 (c) Scotland 2 
			 Total 477 
		
	
	The information is not held in a format to enable a split between sections 4A and 4B.

Flood Control

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to implement the recommendations of the Pitt report: Learning Lessons from the 2007 Floods, published in June 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA published a final progress report in January 2012 that sets out details of the implementation of each of the Pitt review recommendations. The review made 91 recommendations for Government to take action on. 83 of these have been implemented, 40 of which require ongoing work. A further six recommendations are on track to be implemented by December 2014 or earlier.
	While some work streams are taking longer than previously anticipated to come to fruition, the Government is confident that this final target date will be met.
	The report can be found at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk

Flood Control

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2012, Official Report, column 385W, on flood control, what the adjusted annual totals are for spending on managing the risk of flooding and coastal erosion following the announcement of 30 November 2012 of £120 million of additional funding for flood defences in each year to 2015.

Richard Benyon: The Government is on course to spend £2.3 billion on managing the risk of flooding and coastal erosion from April 2011 to March 2015. The expected profile of expenditure for this and the following two years is as follows:
	
		
			 Budgeted expenditure by DEFRA in England 
			  £ million 
			 2012-13 559.9 
			 2013-14 574.5 
			 2014-15 612.7

Fracking

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he will take to prevent fracking operations in the Mendip Hills contaminating groundwater in that area.

Richard Benyon: The Environment Agency has not received any applications for environmental permits for unconventional gas developments or fracking in and around the Mendip Hills. However if it were to receive such applications, the agency would make an assessment on the risk of pollution to groundwater on a case by case (site by site) basis.
	If the Environment Agency determines that there could be a risk of pollution of groundwater at a site, it would require an operator to apply for an environmental permit for a groundwater activity before hydraulic fracturing could commence. This permit would put conditions on their operation, which would control the risks of pollution in order to safeguard the groundwater and water quality.

Furans

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government regarding making possession of carbon furan illegal in England.

David Heath: No discussions have taken place with the Scottish Government regarding making the possession of carbofuran illegal in England.
	The pesticides most commonly occurring in wildlife poisoning incidents, including carbofuran, are not approved for use in the UK and their sale, supply, storage or use is already a criminal offence under existing UK pesticide legislation. Additionally the use of any poisonous substance to kill or take wild birds is already an offence under section 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

Horses: Animal Welfare

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in the Welsh Government on fly grazing involving horses.

David Heath: None. However, DEFRA officials are in regular contact with Welsh Government officials on these issues.

Horses: Animal Welfare

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he plans to take to ensure an enforceable link between horse and owner following the closure of the National Equine Database.

David Heath: The National Equine Database operates as a central repository of horse passport data, supplied by horse passport issuing organisations (PIOs). PIOs continue to collect and store such data, which continue to be available for regulatory and other legal purposes.

Livestock: Transport

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 8 January 2013, Official Report, columns 208-9W, on livestock: transport, whether he has concerns over the practices of other EU member states which receive live animal exports from the UK and their compliance with Directive EC 1/2005.

David Heath: Day to day questions relating to the enforcement of animal welfare during transport rules are normally dealt with by DEFRA officials in conjunction with their counterparts in the competent authority concerned, in line with the requirements for mutual assistance and exchange of information laid down in Article 24 of Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005.
	If the problem is suitably serious or complex in nature, possibly involving both animal health and welfare issues, DEFRA's chief veterinary officer will discuss the issue or write to the equivalent head of veterinary services in the country concerned, copying any correspondence to the EU Commission as appropriate. This has generally been successful in the past in resolving specific technical issues relating to enforcement of the welfare in transport legislation.
	The last ministerial discussion on the welfare in transport legislation (which included the EU Commission in an observational capacity) took place in the Agriculture Council meeting on 18 June 2012. That meeting agreed that the number one future priority should be an improvement in the enforcement of the existing requirements of the legislation across the EU.
	I am content that these arrangements enable DEFRA to communicate any concerns over the practices of other member states at the appropriate levels.

Livestock: Transport

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 8 January 2013, Official Report, column 209W, on livestock: transport, on which occasions the Chief Veterinary Officer has discussed with or written to the head of veterinary services of an EU member state on transport of livestock.

David Heath: In the last 12 months, the chief veterinary officer (CVO) has written four times to heads of veterinary services, or to equivalent senior officials in other member states, on issues relating to the transport of livestock. He will also have occasionally discussed welfare in transport issues in the Standing Committee of the Food Chain and Animal Health, and at informal CVO meetings.

National Parks

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) rangers, (b) planners, (c) archaeologists, (d) sustainable development advisers and (e) education officers were employed in each national park in England in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The numbers of rangers, planners, archaeologists, sustainable development advisers and education officers employed in each national park authority in England in 2010-11 and 2011-12 are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Rangers Planners Archaeologists Sustainable development advisers Education officers 
			  2010 -11 2011 -12 2010 -11 2011 -12 2010 11 2011 -12 2010 -11 2011 -12 2010 -11 2011 -12 
			 Broads 16.18 15.75 4.68 4.85 0 0 0 0 0 0.92 
			 Dartmoor 10.6 9.5 (1)6 (1)6 1.4 1.5 1 1 2 2 
			 Exmoor 4 4 7 6 2 2 2 2 2 2 
			 Lake District 25 22 20 20 3 3 2 2 2 2 
			 New Forest 3.33 3.33 10 10 1 1 1.73 1.5 2.42 2.42 
			 North York Moors 8.73 8.73 (1)9.2 (1)8.2 1.5 1.5 1 0 3.9 3.5 
			 Northumberland 10 7 1.5 1 1 1 0 0 1.5 1.5 
			 Peak District 32 27.5 17 17 4 3 1 1 9.4 4 
			 South Downs 0 18 2 25 0 0 0 1 1 1 
			 Yorkshire Dales 19 18 10 8 2 1 1 0 1 0 
			 (1 )Figures exclude forward planners.

National Parks

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of (a) jobs, (b) young people involved in and (c) hectares of land conserved as a result of National Parks Sustainable Development Fund projects in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement .

Richard Benyon: No estimate has been made of the numbers of (a) jobs, (b) young people involved in, and (c) hectares of land conserved as a result of National Parks Sustainable Development Fund projects in the last three years.

New Forest National Park Authority

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  for what reasons the pilot scheme for direct elections to the New Forest National Park Authority have been postponed; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether primary legislation is necessary before pilot schemes for direct elections to National Park Authorities can be held or whether such elections can be held by Ministerial Order under section 3(2)(c) of the Public Bodies Act 2011;
	(3)  when he expects the pilot scheme for direct elections to the New Forest National Park Authority to take place.

Richard Benyon: The Government has consulted on proposals to introduce legislation to enable pilot schemes for direct elections to the New Forest and Peak District National Park Authorities. Ministers will shortly make a statement on the outcomes of the consultation and on the way forward.
	Primary legislation would be necessary before pilot schemes for direct elections to national park authorities could be held. An order under the Public Bodies Act is not a suitable vehicle to introduce the necessary measures. The Public Bodies Act has a bar on orders made under it conferring a delegated power to make statutory instruments (section 20(1)(a)). Such a power is needed for making the rules and regulations to govern the conduct of elections.

Pet Travel Scheme

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many dogs have entered the UK from (a) other EU countries and (b) listed non-EU countries since his Department implemented the revised EU Pet Travel scheme in January 2012.

David Heath: The number of dogs presented for entry into Great Britain in 2012 was (a) 137,930 with pet passports issued in other EU countries and their territories and (b) 4,055 with identity documents issued in listed non-EU countries.
	The data were obtained from the PETS Statistics Database on 9 January 2013.

Pet Travel Scheme

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from which (a) EU and (b) non-EU countries dogs have been imported since the introduction of the revised EU Pet Travel scheme in January 2012.

David Heath: In 2012, dogs were presented for entry into GB with documentation (a pet passport or third country veterinary certificate) that had been issued in the following countries:
	(a) EU countries and territories: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland (Republic of), Italy, La Reunion, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.
	(b) Listed non-EU countries: Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Barbados, Bermuda, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, Croatia, French Polynesia, Hong Kong, Iceland, Jamaica, Japan, Liechtenstein, Mauritius, Mexico, Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, San Marino, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates, USA. Dogs have also been imported under the pet travel scheme from unlisted non-EU countries, but information relating to their country of origin is not captured on the PETS database.
	These data were obtained from the PETS Statistics Database on 9 January 2013.

Pet Travel Scheme

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations he has received from Eurostar on the EU Pet Travel scheme and what recent representations his Department has made to Eurostar to seek to bring to an end restrictions on transfrontier passengers travelling between the UK and mainland Europe with pets.

David Heath: DEFRA has not received or made any recent representations from or to Eurostar on the transport of pet animals.

Pigmeat: Imports

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much pig meat was imported from other EU countries in each of the last three months.

David Heath: The volume of UK imports of pigmeat from other EU member states are shown in the table, as recorded in HM Revenue and Customs overseas trade statistics.
	The latest three months for which figures are available are August to October 2012.
	
		
			 UK imports of pigmeat from EU member states 
			 Thousand tonnes 
			  2012 
			 Type August September October 
			 Pork 29.4 28.8 30.9 
			 Bacon and ham 22.6 21.3 23.7 
			 Pigmeat total 52.0 50.0 54.6 
			 Notes: 1. 2012 data is subject to amendments. 2. EU data based on EU 27. Data prepared by: Trade Statistics, Analysis and Evidence Team, DEFRA Source: HM Revenue and Customs

Pigs: Animal Welfare

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to prevent the importation of pig meat which has been illegally produced in sow stalls.

David Heath: It is very disappointing that so many member states were not fully compliant with the sow stall ban on 1 January 2013, despite their assurances to the Commission last year.
	There are no marketing rules to prevent imports from non-compliant systems. Member states cannot impose unilateral trade restrictions for welfare reasons. Enforcement of imported pig meat is, therefore, challenging. We have to rely heavily on the competent authority in each member state to take responsibility for ensuring that their producers comply with the directive. However, the European Commission is taking action against member states which are not delivering on their animal welfare obligations.
	I have met with representatives of the whole pig supply chain to ensure that they have stringent traceability tests in place to ensure that they only source pigmeat from compliant production systems. They have assured me that they will use their best endeavours as there is clearly a significant reputation issue for their companies or trade associations.
	We are using every opportunity to press the Commission to take a firm stand as the priority must be to protect those producers across the EU who have invested heavily in converting to more welfare-friendly group housing systems from illegal production.

Pigs: Animal Welfare

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the European Commission on which EU member states comply with the sow stall and tether ban.

David Heath: UK Ministers and officials met with the Commission on a regular basis during 2012 to encourage a robust approach to enforcement of the pig welfare directive and to discuss member states' progress with compliance with the sow stall ban.
	I am expecting the Commission to provide an update of the current position now the ban has come into force at January's Agriculture and Fisheries Council at the end of the month. It is likely to say there is large-scale non-compliance and that it is taking action against those member states which are not delivering on their animal welfare obligations. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the right hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), and I met with Commissioner Borg on 17 January and raised our concerns about sow stalls with him. We are using every opportunity to press the Commission to take a firm stand as the priority must be to protect those producers across the whole of the EU who have invested heavily in converting to more welfare-friendly group housing systems from illegal production.
	The use of tethers for sows and gilts has been banned across the European Union since 1 January 2006.

Squirrels

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reason his Department's system of making grants available for landowners and landholders to encourage the control of rabbits and deer has not been extended to encourage the control of grey squirrels in a similar fashion.

Richard Benyon: Wildlife management is a devolved matter, therefore I can only answer with respect to the situation in England.
	DEFRA does not provide funding for rabbit control. The Forestry Commission awards Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) funding for woodland management (including pest control) through the English Woodland Grant Scheme (EWGS). DEFRA is the managing authority for the RDPE and is responsible for its implementation under EU law. The EWGS provides funding for grey squirrel control where they threaten red squirrel populations and for deer management activities (including control) to help prevent woodland damage.

Temporary Employment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what amount his Department spent on interim staff as defined by the National Audit Office in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: Details of expenditure on temporary staff are set out on page 47 of the Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2011-12:
	http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc1213/hc00/0068/0068.pdf
	These data are in line with the NAO definition.
	The following account descriptors have been used to compile expenditure reported in the Annual Report and Accounts:
	Casual staff;
	Employer's national insurance contributions—casual staff;
	Agency temps;
	Contractors—management cover.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

British Indian Ocean Territory

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2013, Official Report, column 656W, on British Indian Ocean Territory, if he will re-evaluate the feasibility of habitation of the outer islands in the British Indian Ocean Territory; and if he will agree in consultation with Chagossians to an independent study by international experts to report within 12 months on the practicalities of resettlement to these islands.

Mark Simmonds: In taking stock of our policy on resettlement, feasibility will be an important factor. We are still considering options and no time scale has yet been fixed. We will engage with Chagossian groups and all interested parties as we take this work forward.

Burma

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to encourage the Government of Burma to allow unhindered access for international humanitarian assistance to displaced peoples in all parts of Kachin State and Northern Shan State.

Hugo Swire: We continue to call for unhindered humanitarian access to conflict-affected areas at every opportunity. During my visit to Burma in December, I urged the Burmese authorities to allow free and unhindered humanitarian access in Kachin and Northern Shan States. The British ambassador to Burma also met with senior members of the Burmese Government on Wednesday 16 January to raise our concerns about aid access.
	In response to the increased need, the Department for International Development announced in December 2012 an additional £1.5 million of humanitarian support for people displaced by the conflict in Kachin, including in hard to reach areas and neighbouring states, bringing our total humanitarian aid contribution to the conflict in Kachin to £3.5 million.

Burma

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will introduce measures to increase diplomatic and economic pressure on the government of Burma, if there is not an immediate cessation of the Burma Army's offensive in Kachin State.

Hugo Swire: We continue to call for the cessation of violence in Kachin State at every opportunity. I raised these concerns with the Burmese authorities during my visit to Burma in December and our ambassador raised them again with senior members of the Burmese Government on 16 January 2013.
	The EU Foreign Affairs Council will next review sanctions on Burma in April. The outcome of this review will depend on the progress that the Burmese Government has made against the benchmarks that were set out in the conclusions of the Council in January 2012. These included the need to see meaningful progress in the process of reconciliation with armed ethnic groups.
	We welcome the progress made by the Government and 10 of 11 armed groups in agreeing ceasefires. However, as I said on 3 January, we remain deeply concerned by the ongoing conflict between the Burmese Army and Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in Burma's Kachin State, including recent reports of air strikes in the state. An escalation in hostilities would put at risk the chance of a lasting peace in Burma. It is imperative that military commanders in Burma heed their President's calls for an end to hostilities. It is important that all sides, including the KIA, come to the negotiating table and make renewed efforts to work towards lasting peace.

Burma

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to encourage the government of Burma to work with independent, international monitors to (a) undertake a systematic review of all detainees, to assess the number of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience still in detention and (b) release all remaining political prisoners and prisoners of conscience.

Hugo Swire: The British Government has made clear that all remaining political prisoners in Burma should be released. This was one of the three key conditions underpinning the suspension of EU sanctions in April 2012. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised the issue of political prisoners in his meeting with the Burmese Foreign Minister at the UN General Assembly in September 2012, and I raised our concerns again with the Burmese Foreign Minister during my visit to Burma in December 2012.
	The Burmese Government has made progress on this issue. Several hundred political prisoners from Burma's jails were released in 2012, including prominent civil society and ethnic leaders, in a continuation of the trend from 2011. Independent reports indicate that around 200 political prisoners could remain in Burma's jails.
	Following President Obama's visit to Burma in November 2012, the Burmese Government agreed to establish an independent political prisoner review mechanism to look at these remaining cases. We are in contact with them about this and are urging quick implementation. The Burmese Government also agreed with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) that it would have access to Burmese jails, including full access to visit and assess prisoners, for the first time. British Government officials are in contact with the ICRC and with local prisoner networks to ascertain numbers of remaining political prisoner cases, most recently in January 2013, by meeting representatives of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma).

Burma

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with (a) his EU counterparts, (b) the US and (c) the Association of South-East Asian Nations, to co-ordinate an international response to the escalating conflict in Kachin State, Burma.

Hugo Swire: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), discussed the situation in Burma with Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretary-General Le Luong Minh on 13 December 2012. The situation in Kachin state was discussed on 15 January by UK, French, German, Italian and United States political directors, and representatives from the EU's External Action Service. This discussion included agreement on the importance of an enduring political solution to Burma's ethnic conflict. Official level discussions between the UK and US, and within the EU, cover the ethnic conflict in Burma on a regular basis.
	The British ambassador to Burma, to whom I spoke on 21 January, is in regular contact with his US counterpart on a range of issues. They last discussed the situation in Kachin on 16 January.

Burma

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the government of the People's Republic of China on the Burma Army's air strikes in Kachin State.

Hugo Swire: Our embassy in Rangoon discussed the situation in Kachin State with counterparts from the Chinese embassy on 16 January 2013. Our embassy emphasised our concern about the air strikes and urged a common message from the international community that the attacks should stop.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Director for Asia Pacific, raised the prospect of further discussion with the MFA concerning the situation in Burma, during a meeting with officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in Beijing on 15 January 2013.

Burma

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to encourage the Government of Burma to conduct a full review of the 1982 Citizenship Law, and to consider amending it in line with international human rights standards.

Hugo Swire: I visited Burma, including Rakhine State, from 12 to 15 December 2012. During my discussions with the Burmese Government, both at the state and national level, I emphasised the British Government's position that, in the short term, the Burmese Government should ensure that humanitarian access and coordination are improved and that security is maintained. I also emphasised the British Government's position that, in the longer term, those responsible for the violence should be held accountable and that a solution should be found to the issue of Rohingya citizenship. These positions are also regularly made clear by the ambassador and British officials in Burma.
	British officials in Burma have been liaising with the UN High Commission for Refugees, which is currently conducting a review into Burma's 1982 citizenship law and its conformity with international standards. We are also liaising with members of the Rakhine Investigative Commission set up by the Burmese Government, which is due to publish its final report in March 2013. We continue to urge the Burmese Government to reach a satisfactory solution to the issue of Rohingya citizenship through these efforts.

Burma

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Burma in response to the Burma Army's recent aerial bombardment of the Kachin Independence Army.

Hugo Swire: We continue to call for the cessation of violence in Kachin State at every opportunity.
	Our ambassador to Burma raised these concerns again with senior members of the Burmese Government on 16 January.
	During my visit to Burma in December, I made clear to the Burmese authorities the need to make progress on resolving the conflict in Kachin State and to move towards a lasting peaceful political settlement. In my public statement of 3 January, I expressed the British Government's deep concern over reports emerging from Kachin State that there had been an escalation in hostilities.

Burma

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Secretary-General of the United Nations in response to the escalating conflict in Kachin State, Burma.

Hugo Swire: We welcome the UN Secretary-General's statement of 2 January which took serious note of the most recent reports indicating air strikes against targets in Kachin State. On 3 January, I expressed our deep concern over reports emerging from Kachin State that there had been an escalation in hostilities.
	The Secretary-General's Special Adviser, Mr Vijay Nambiar, visited Burma during week commencing 14 January. During the visit he met the Burmese Vice-President Dr Sai Mauk Kham and raised the situation in Kachin. We will request that Mr Nambiar brief the Security Council following his visit.
	We have not had any recent discussion with the UN Secretary-General in respect of the escalating conflict in Kachin. On 28 September 2012 I attended a Friends of Burma meeting hosted by the UN Secretary General in New York in which the situation in Kachin was discussed.

Burma

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to encourage the Government of Burma to undertake further legislative, constitutional, institutional and judicial reforms; and what recent assistance his Department has offered to this process.

Hugo Swire: In response to a request from Aung San Suu Kyi, the UK Government has been supporting capacity building of the Burmese parliament. During 2012, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy carried out a scoping visit, and plans to support the administration of public financial scrutiny by sharing good practice from the UK Public Accounts Committee. In December 2012, a cross-party delegation of three Burmese MPs from the Draft Bills Committee visited London to spend time in the House of Commons and House of Lords and learn about the drafting and debating of UK law.
	This work will be built upon in 2013 in conjunction with the Department for International Development and civil society partners, identifying areas which are priorities for the Burmese Parliament and its supporting institutions.

Burma

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the judiciary in Burma; and what assessment he has made of the prospects for the creation and promotion of a genuine, independent judiciary in that country.

Hugo Swire: The Burmese Government has emphasised that the establishment of rule of law is a priority in its reform process. Burma's problems with its judiciary are pronounced: partiality and inconsistency in sentencing is prevalent, as is corruption within the system. In addition, the institutions around the legal system and serving civil servants often lack the capacity to design and implement reform. The British Government remains committed to supporting the Burmese Government efforts to translate its commitment to reform into action.
	The British Government has sought to utilise its experience and expertise in this area to help build the capacity of the Burmese legal system. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) organised a visit to Burma by the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute in July 2012, which produced a report prioritising areas of future support. The FCO has also provided funding this year to a British non-governmental organisation to provide a wide-ranging rule of law capacity building programme, as well as providing training for civil society advocacy groups and human rights defenders in effective policy and human rights advocacy.
	The Department for International Development supports complementary rule of law programmes by non-government organisations, mobilising networks of legal professionals and legal aid practitioners within the Burmese legal system and supporting them with training.

Burma

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to urge the Government of Burma to end its military offensive in Kachin and Northern Shan states and engage in a political dialogue and a peace process with the Kachin Independence Organisation.

Hugo Swire: We continue to call for the cessation of violence in Kachin at every opportunity. In my public statement of 3 January, I expressed the British Government's deep concern over the situation in Kachin State.
	Our ambassador to Burma raised these concerns with senior members of the Burmese Government on 16 January. During my visit in December, I made clear to the Burmese authorities the need to make progress on resolving the conflict in Kachin State and to move towards a lasting peaceful political settlement.

Burma

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to encourage the Government of Burma to sign, ratify and implement those core international human rights treaties to which Burma is not yet a party.

Hugo Swire: The UK Government regularly raises human rights with our Burmese counterparts, making clear that progress on human rights is one of the key benchmarks for judging the depth of the reform process currently under way in Burma.
	During my visit to Burma from 12 to 15 December 2012, I raised a number of human rights issues, including pressing the Burmese Government to sign the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) requesting their support for the Foreign Secretary's initiative on preventing sexual violence in conflict. Senior British officials, including our ambassador to Burma, continue to raise with the Burmese Government Burma's signature of the ICCPR, the Convention against Torture and its Optional Protocol, and the UN Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.
	We continue to lobby the Burmese Government to fulfil the commitment it made in November 2012 to open an Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which would monitor and help Burmese's implementation of international human rights treaties.

Burma

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will consider working with other EU member states to halt the relaxation of economic sanctions and new trade and investment in Burma if there is not an immediate cessation of the Burma Army's offensive in Kachin State.

Hugo Swire: We continue to call the cessation of violence in Kachin State at every opportunity. I raised these concerns with the Burmese authorities during my visit to Burma in December and our ambassador raised them again with senior members of the Burmese Government on 16 January.
	The EU Foreign Affairs Council will review sanctions on Burma in April 2013. In January 2012 EU Foreign Ministers agreed to measure progress in line with a number of benchmarks set out in EU Council Conclusions. These included the need for a credible process of reconciliation with armed ethnic groups, unhindered humanitarian access to conflict areas, the free and fair conduct of by-elections in April 2012 and the unconditional release of all political prisoners.
	As the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt), said during a House of Commons debate on 15 January, any decision on sanctions will depend on the progress that has been made by Burma against these benchmarks, including in Kachin State. We will be consulting our EU colleagues over the coming months ahead of the April review.

Burundi

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the preparedness of Burundi to join the Commonwealth.

Mark Simmonds: We understand that Burundi has lodged with the Commonwealth Secretariat an expression of its interest in joining the Commonwealth. We welcome applications from countries which can meet the necessary requirements and demonstrate a dedication to the Commonwealth's core values, particularly in relation to human rights, good governance and rule of law. Applications are a matter for the Commonwealth Secretariat, and decisions are made by consensus of the Heads of all member states.

Commonwealth Business Council

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to promote the work of the Commonwealth Business Council.

Hugo Swire: UK Ministers have spoken at events organised by the Commonwealth Business Council to encourage intra-Commonwealth trade and promote trade and investment in the UK. Most recently, in May 2012, the then Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my noble Friend, Lord Howell of Guildford, and the Minister of State for Trade and Investment, my noble Friend, Lord Green, spoke at the Africa Day Business Roundtable. In October 2011, Lord Howell and Lord Green spoke at the Commonwealth Business Forum in Perth.

Israel

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has raised concerns about child prisoners with the Israeli Government since May 2010.

Alistair Burt: Our officials in Israel have repeatedly expressed our concerns about children in detention to the Israeli authorities. We welcomed Israel's decision in 2011 to raise the age of legal majority for Palestinian children in the Israeli military justice system, a step we had advocated. I have since raised the implementation of this decision with the Israel ambassador.
	In addition, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office funded and facilitated a report by leading British lawyers, including Baroness Scotland. We welcome their independent report entitled “Children in military custody” and share many of the concerns contained in it. We have passed the report to the UK authorities. I have written to the Israeli ambassador to London to urge Israel to take action on the report. During his visit to Israel in November 2012, the Attorney-General, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Beaconsfield (Mr Grieve) discussed the report with the Israeli Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein and other senior interlocutors. Mr Weinstein agreed to further talks between UK and British legal experts on the subject. This followed previous discussions between the British embassy in Tel Aviv and the Israeli authorities on this and other recommendations made in the June 2012 report.
	In the meantime I welcome some small steps taken by the Israeli authorities. These include a recent Israeli military order which reduces the length of time children can be held in pre-trial detention and an announcement in December by the Israeli State Attorney reducing, from April, the period a Palestinian minor falling under the jurisdiction of the West Bank military court system can be held before being brought before a judge.

Israel

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times he has met the Israeli Foreign Secretary in the last year.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) met with the Israeli Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, twice in 2012 on 22 May and 3 July.
	In addition I met with Mr Lieberman once in 2012 on 21 November.

Mali

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department's Preventing Sexual Violence team will be deployed in Mali.

Mark Simmonds: Mali is a rapidly developing situation and we are engaging with regional partners and the UN regarding the protection of civilians including women. Following the first deployment of Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI) experts in December 2012 to the Syria region, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is developing other PSVI deployment opportunities. This involves identifying with national governments, non-government organisations and international partners, particularly the UN, where and how the UK team of experts can add most value. While there are no current plans to deploy the team to Mali, we will continue to monitor the situation and remain ready to act should the appropriate mandate and opportunity be present.

Occupied Territories

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his European Union counterparts on the possible imposition of sanctions against Israel following the Israeli Government's recent decision to extend the construction of new settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Alistair Burt: Our position on Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is clear: they are illegal under international law, an obstacle to peace and make a two-state solution, with Jerusalem as a shared capital, harder to achieve. We consistently urge the Israeli authorities to cease all settlement building and to remove illegal outposts, as required under international law and in fulfilment of Israel's obligations under the Roadmap.
	We do not hesitate to express disagreement to Israel over action to expand, create, or entrench settlements, whenever we feel it necessary. We understand the frustration felt by many when Israel fails to heed our and others' concerns over various aspects of the Occupation, including settlement building. Nonetheless, in line with our wish to maintain and further strengthen the UK's close ties with Israel, the Government opposes sanctions against, or boycotts of, Israel.
	Any decision about any other measures the UK might take will depend on the outcome of our discussions with the Israeli Government and with international partners including the US and European Union.

Occupied Territories

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response he has made to the Israeli Government's recent decision to extend the construction of new Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), outlined concern about recent Israeli settlement announcements during his meeting with Israeli Chief Negotiator, Yitzhak Molcho, on 20 December 2012.
	On 18 December, the Foreign Secretary issued a statement condemning the decision by the Jerusalem District Planning Board to give approval for a plan to build 1,500 housing units in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Ramat Shlomo. He urged Israel to reverse this decision and take no further steps aimed at expanding or entrenching settlement activity.
	On 26 December, I also condemned the Jerusalem District Planning Board's recent approvals for over 3,150 units in Givaat Hamatos and 1,242 units in Mordot Gilo South. I made clear that these were profoundly provocative actions that run contrary to the Fourth Geneva convention.
	Our embassy in Tel Aviv continues to make our concerns on this issue clear to the Israeli authorities.

Overseas Students: Scholarships

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to promote scholarships for Commonwealth citizens to study in the UK.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office continues to fund Chevening Scholarships, the UK Government's global scholarship programme. The programme, which began in 1983, is aimed at educating and building lasting relationships with future leaders and decision-makers in a wide range of fields. It funds 700 postgraduate students each year from 116 countries and territories.
	Commonwealth countries form a key part of the Chevening programme and there were over 200 students from Commonwealth countries in 2012-13. A total of 198 scholarships were awarded to citizens of Commonwealth countries in 2011-12, approximately a third of the total intake for that year.

Palestinians

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of attempts at political reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Alistair Burt: We continue to follow closely developments regarding the issue of reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah, including the recent meeting between President Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Mesh'al in Cairo on 9 January. The British Government's position and that of the EU remains that Palestinian reconciliation, if agreed on the basis of the principles set out by President Abbas in his speech of 4 May 2011, would be a positive step for the unity of a future Palestinian state and for reaching a two state solution.

Turkmenistan

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of UK relations with Turkmenistan.

David Lidington: The UK has a good relationship with Turkmenistan, and we are working to develop it further.
	Turkmenistan has the world's fourth largest reserves of natural gas, which could make an important contribution to EU energy security and offer significant commercial opportunities for UK companies. In recognition of that potential, the Prime Minster has appointed my hon. Friend the Member for Wealden (Charles Hendry), as Trade Envoy with responsibility for Turkmenistan as well as Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. He will lead his first trade mission to Ashgabat this month.
	Turkmenistan can play an important role in underpinning long-term stability in Afghanistan, a UK priority. The Turkmen already provide valuable humanitarian assistance to the north-west region and promote the Turkmenistan Afghanistan Pakistan India (TAPI) gas pipeline.
	The UK will continue to work on all aspects of the bilateral agenda, including supporting progress in Turkmenistan on much needed human rights and other reforms.

TREASURY

Excise Duties: Alcoholic Drinks

Dan Rogerson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was paid out through the alcohol drawback duty regime in (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2011.

Sajid Javid: The drawback figures for the period(s) in question are:
	
		
			  Total alcohol drawback (£) 
			 2008-09 73,391,279 
			 2009-10 84,018,360 
			 2010-11 110,293,984 
			 2011-12 93,205,1.60

Excise Duties: Fuels

Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the effects of the cancellation of the scheduled fuel duty rise.

Sajid Javid: The Government's autumn statement of 5 December 2012, Official Report, columns 871-82, announcement on fuel duty provides support for motorists and businesses. Cancelling the 3p increase will save a typical motorist £40 per year and a typical haulier £1,200 per year. As a result of the repeated action by the Government, average pump prices will remain at least 10p per litre lower than if we had stuck with the previous Government's plans for the remainder of this Parliament.

Northern Rock

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 7 January 2013, Official Report, column 14W, on Northern Rock, whether (a) he and (b) officials in his Department were made informally aware of the probable remediation of interest charges for Northern Rock customers prior to the decision by the board of UK Asset Resolution on 5 December 2012.

Sajid Javid: As specified in the previous answers to PQs on 17 December 2012, Official Report, column 562W, 20 December 2012, Official Report, column 921W, and 7 January 2013, Official Report, column 14W, the decision to remediate interest charges for Northern Rock Asset Management customers with Consumer Credit Act (CCA) regulated loans where the loan documentation is not compliant with CCA requirements was taken by the UK Asset Resolution (UKAR) Board on 5 December. Ministers were made aware of the board's proposal on the same day. Officials were made aware of the final estimate of the probable remediation costs on the afternoon 5 December. The UKAR proposal was agreed by UK Financial Investments Ltd (UKFI) in a letter to UKAR on 10 December. UKFI sought and was granted Treasury approval on 10 December.

Offshore Industry: Taxation

Nick Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the extent of the relationship between the North sea oil and gas tax regime and the sector's UK employment base;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effects on the (a) level of investment and (b) number of jobs of changes to the North sea oil and gas tax regime.

Sajid Javid: The Government has made no assessment of the direct relationship between the North sea oil and gas tax regime and the sector's UK employment base. The latter is influenced by a number of factors, including the management and procurement decisions made by individual companies.
	Assessments of any anticipated investment effects of changes to the oil and gas tax regime in the forecast period are included in the policy costings for such measures which are certified by the Office for Budget Responsibility. The package of oil and gas measures which the Government introduced in 2012 is expected to increase investment over the forecast period. Following these measures, we have already seen a number of significant new projects being announced, which are together expected by the industry to support thousands of UK jobs.

Personal Income: Kingston Upon Hull

Diana Johnson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2013, Official Report, column 670W, on personal income: Kingston upon Hull, how many people in Hull North had a taxable income greater than (a) £20,000, (b) £30,000 and (c) £50,000 in 2009-10; and what estimate he has made of comparable figures for (i) Hull and (ii) the smallest relevant geographic area for which figures are available in (A) 2010-11 and (B) 2011-12.

David Gauke: There were an estimated 13,000 taxpayers in the Kingston upon Hull North constituency in 2009-10 with total income greater than £20,000, and an estimated 6,000 with total income greater than £30,000.
	An estimate of those with income greater than £50,000 in 2009-10 is not available due to small sample size.
	These estimates are based on Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI) outturn data for 2009-10. Estimates of taxpayer numbers at parliamentary constituency level based on new SPI survey data for 2010-11 will be published on 31 January 2013.
	Projections of taxpayer numbers beyond the 2009-10 SPI outturn are not generally published below the United Kingdom level due to significant uncertainties in making projections for smaller geographical areas.
	Available projections of taxpayer numbers by country and region are published in Table 2.2 ‘Number of individual income taxpayers by marginal rate, gender and age, by country and region, 1999-2000 to 2012-13', available on the HMRC website:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/tax-statistics/table2-2.pdf

Tax Avoidance

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to publish the consultation on public procurement and tax avoidance announced in the 2012 autumn statement.

David Gauke: Cabinet Office and HMRC will shortly commence discussions with stakeholders on proposals to use the public procurement process to promote tax compliance.

Tax Avoidance

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many participants in tax avoidance schemes HM Revenue and Customs has contacted regarding the settlement opportunity announced on 3 December 2012; and with how many such participants HM Revenue and Customs had reached agreement by 16 January 2013.

David Gauke: There is an ongoing rolling programme to issue letters to the targeted scheme participants throughout January. By the end of 16 January 2013, 3,885 letters had been issued.
	No agreements have yet been reached with those receiving the letters. Such agreements are complex and negotiations are likely to take some time to conclude. However, there have already been responses to the letters and discussions with interested parties are taking place.

Tax Avoidance

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the level of tax avoided by multinational corporations trading in the UK via the use of inter-company loans.

David Gauke: In line with international accounting standards and like most OECD countries’ tax systems, UK tax rules recognise the distinction between debt and equity and give deductions for interest as a business expense.
	While there is potential for some businesses to seek to exploit the UK's current rules for avoidance purposes, statistics are not compiled to measure the impact of attempted avoidance by reference to the use of inter company loans. However, the UK has a variety of defences which protect against excessive interest deductions:
	The worldwide debt cap, which limits the total tax deductions for interest that the UK part of a worldwide group can claim;
	Transfer pricing rules which disallow interest deductions in excess of what would be paid to an independent lender and on borrowing in excess of what the company would or could borrow;
	Anti-arbitrage rules which tackle artificial asymmetric arrangements for intra-group payments and receipts;
	Disguised interest rules for arrangements giving a return economically equivalent to interest;
	Unallowable purpose rules which prevent a deduction for interest on a loan that does not have a commercial purpose; and
	Withholding tax on interest (where not ceded or reduced under a Double Tax Agreement).
	The Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Scheme (DOTAS) provisions for marketed tax avoidance schemes also cover schemes that seek to exploit the UK rules in respect of inter-company loans. Notifications under DOTAS enable HMRC to counter abusive schemes at an early stage and inform the risk assessment process to ensure that avoidance is tackled appropriately.
	The Government announced on 3 December new investment of £77 million to expand HMRC's anti-avoidance and evasion activity. The overall package will bring in additional revenues of £2 billion more a year by the end of 2014-15. This additional investment means HMRC will further improve its risk assessment capability for large multinational companies and increase its transfer pricing specialist resources. This will help to ensure that multinationals pay the tax due in accordance with UK tax law.

Tax Avoidance and Evasion

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on the European Commission's action plan on tackling tax avoidance and evasion.

David Gauke: The Government is fully committed to clamping down on those who evade paying their tax and welcomes Commission consideration of what EU-level actions may be appropriate. The Government is currently considering the proposals in the Commission's action plan in further detail, including the priority which should be given to the various proposals while taking fully into account the balance of competences in this area and the subsidiarity principle.

Tax Havens

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent progress has been made by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in preventing artificial transfers of profits to tax havens.

David Gauke: The UK, French and German Governments have jointly written to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development offering voluntary contributions equivalent to €150,000 each in order to support rapid progress on its work to tackle profit shifting and the erosion of the corporate tax base at the global level.
	The OECD will report to the G20 Finance Ministers on progress in February 2013. The timetable and direction for further work by the OECD will be set following consideration of the February report. Given the complex issues involved and the need to gather evidence, the voluntary contributions to this work will help make progress in achieving concrete results as soon as possible.

Welfare Tax Credits: Merseyside

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in (a) Halton, (b) Knowsley, (c) Liverpool, (d) Sefton, (e) St Helens and (f) Wirral local authority areas are claiming (i) working family tax credit and childcare tax credit change in circumstance income disregards, (ii) childcare tax credit first income threshold, (iii) childcare tax credit second income threshold, (iv) childcare tax credit baby element, (v) working family tax credit 30 hour element, (vi) working family tax credit basic element, (vii) working family tax credit single parent and couple element, (viii) working family tax credit 50-plus element, (ix) working family tax credit minimum hours for couples, (x) housing benefit non-dependant deductions, (xi) council tax benefit non-dependant deductions, (xii) contribution-based employment and support allowance (ESA) and (xiii) youth provision of ESA.

Sajid Javid: Working family tax credit was abolished in March 2003 and replaced by the current child and working tax credit system.
	All figures provided in this answer are based on the current tax credits system, as at December 2012. Further information can be found in HMRC's published National Statistics, which can be found here:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/personal-tax-credits.htm#1
	(i) Final tax credit entitlement for a given year is based on income in that year if that is: more than £2,500 lower than the income in the previous year; or exceeds it by more than £10,000. A year on year income fall of less than £2,500; or increase of less than £10,000 is disregarded in calculating the current year's final tax credit entitlement, and the previous year's income is used. The disregard for an income rise is to be lowered from £10,000 to £5,000 from April 2013.
	(ii) Any family eligible for any element of working tax credit (WTC) can receive their full entitlement until their annual household income reaches £6,420 p.a.—the first income threshold. After this point, their tax credit entitlement is tapered away. Table 1 details the number of families in each of the requested regions, who are eligible for WTC and whose annual income is above £6,420.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of WTC eligible families whose income is in excess of the first income threshold 
			  Thousand 
			 Halton 5.7 
			 Knowsley 7.5 
			 Liverpool 20.5 
			 Sefton 11.5 
			 St. Helens 7.7 
			 Wirral 13.3 
		
	
	(iii) Any family eligible for child tax credit (CTC) only, can receive their full entitlement until their annual household income reaches £15,860p.a.—the second income threshold. After this point, their tax credit entitlement is tapered away. Table 2 details the number of families in each of the requested regions, who are eligible for CTC only and whose annual income is above £15,860.
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of CTC eligible families whose income is in excess of the second income threshold 
			  Thousand 
			 Halton (1)— 
			 Knowsley 0.1 
			 Liverpool 0.3 
			 Sefton 0.2 
			 St. Helens 0.2 
			 Wirral 0.2 
			 (1) Less than 0.1 thousand families 
		
	
	(iv) The baby element of child tax credit was abolished from April 2011; therefore there are no current recipients.
	(v-vii) Table 3 shows the number of families in the requested regions receiving the WTC basic element, WTC lone parent or couple element, and the WTC 30 hour element.
	
		
			 Table 3: Number of families receiving certain specific elements of WTC 
			 Thousand 
			  WTC basic element WTC lone parent or couple element(1) WTC 30 hour element 
			 Halton 7.1 6.2 5.1 
			 Knowsley 10.0 8.6 6.6 
			 Liverpool 27.9 22.1 18.5 
			 Sefton 14.8 12.5 10.2 
			 St. Helens 9.7 8.2 6.8 
			 Wirral 17.6 14.7 11.9 
			 (1) The numbers in this column include people who receive either the lone parent, or the couple's element. 
		
	
	(viii) The 50+ Return to work element of working tax credit was abolished from April 2012; therefore there are no current recipients.
	(ix) The hours rules for couples claiming working tax credit changed in April 2012. A couple that is responsible for a child or young person must work at least 24 hours between them, and one adult must be working at least 16 hours. If the couple is not responsible for a child one adult must be over 25 years old and working at least 30 hours a week.
	(x-xi) The information requested is not currently available, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	(xii) Statistics on how many people living in Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton or St Helens, receive contribution based employment and support allowance can be found at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=tabtool
	Guidance for users is available at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/guidance.pdf
	(xiii) We have no indicator on our datasets that would identify claimants under the youth provision of ESA. However an ad hoc publication was produced, using estimates, to provide information about youth provision of ESA and this can be found at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/eia-esa-youth-provisions-wr2011.pdf

Working Tax Credit: Self-employed

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the total amount of working tax credits paid to people who are self-employed in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland in the last year for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many people who are self-employed claimed working tax credits in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) each parliamentary constituency in the last year for which figures are available.

Sajid Javid: holding answer 14 January 2013
	The following table details the number of self-employed tax credit recipients who receive some working tax credit; and the total amount of working tax credit that is paid to these recipients. This is provided specifically for Scotland, and for the UK as a whole. The figures are based on the finalised Tax Credits data for 2010-11.
	A breakdown of self-employed working tax credit claimants by parliamentary constituency is provided in Annex A, which will be placed in the Library.
	
		
			  Scotland UK 
			 Number of self-employed tax credit claimants receiving some working tax credit 35,000 600,000 
			 Total amount of working tax credit paid to self-employed recipients £120 million £2.05 billion

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Adult Education: Worcestershire

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much has been spent on supporting adult education in Worcestershire in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13.

Matthew Hancock: Table 1 shows estimated funding to support the delivery of adult (19+) further education and skills (excluding community learning) in Worcestershire local education authority in England. Final data are shown for the 2010/11 academic year and provisional data are shown for the 2011/12 academic year. Data are not yet available for the 2012/13 academic year.
	Estimated funding comes from the Individualised Learner Record. It provides an indication of the level of government funding. It should not be treated as actual spend, as spending is not reported at this level.
	
		
			 Table 1: Estimated funding for adult (19+) further education and skills in Worcestershire local education authority, 2010/11 to 2011/12 (provisional) 
			  Worcestershire local education authority (£ million) 
			 2010/11 (Final) 23 
			 2011/12 (Provisional) 22 
			 Notes: 1. These data include all adult (19+) further education and skills provision except for community learning which is not available at the local education authority level. 2. Geography is based upon the home postcode of the learner. 3. Figures are based on the geographic boundaries of regions as of May 2010. 4. Provisional data for 2011/12 should not be directly compared with data for earlier years. Source: Individualised Learner Record.

Biocidal Products: EU Law

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with (a) other Government Departments and (b) other EU member states on the introduction of the European Biocidal Directive 1998; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: Lead responsibility for biocidal policy lies with the Department for Work and Pensions through their agency the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
	Officials in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) have had recent discussions with HSE on biocidal policy which have centred on the preparations for the introduction of the biocidal products regulation that will replace the biocidal directive 1998. Issues HSE have raised with us include: fees to be paid by industry to the European Chemicals Agency for work carried out by that Agency and proposals for the introduction of fees to be paid by industry to the HSE for work carried out by them.
	As BIS are not the policy lead for this issue, we have not had any discussions with other EU member states on biocidal policy; these are taken forward by the HSE.

Biocidal Products: EU Law

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with representatives of UK (a) manufacturers, (b) installers and (c) operators on the introduction of the European Biocidal Directive 1998; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: Although the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) does not lead on biocidal policy, (the responsibility of the Department for Work and Pensions through their agency the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)), BIS has regular contact with trade associations in the chemical sector who represent biocidal manufacturers. Those trade associations and their member companies correspond directly with HSE on biocidal issues.
	BIS has engaged with the Chemical Industries Association about the HSE legislative plan to enact the biocidal products regulation (which will replace the directive) and will work with industry and with representative bodies to help ensure that UK businesses affected by the regulation are aware and able to comply.

Business: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent steps his Department has taken to assist (a) small, (b) medium-sized and (c) large businesses in Essex; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: Businesses in Essex can gain from national schemes to support businesses, provided by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and local initiatives managed by organisations such as the County Council and the Local Enterprise Partnerships
	The Local Enterprise Partnership covers Essex and working with local authorities and business plays a central role in determining local economic priorities and undertaking activities to drive economic growth and the creation of jobs.
	The Government has also provided funding to local businesses and organisations through the Regional Growth Fund. Companies such as e2V Technologies Limited based in Chelmsford has received £6.25 million to develop its products, one of many in the region to receive a grant to increase jobs in the area. Another is the Thames Gateway Innovation Growth Enterprise (TIGER) which has received £20 million to offer low interest loans to businesses in Essex and north Kent. Round 4 has just been announced (17 January) and new opportunities will be available for businesses to bid.
	This local work complements the Government's work at a national level with the Banks and alternative and new funders to business. This includes start-up loans for young people setting up in business—including two local delivery partners in the Kent area.
	The United Kingdom Trade Investment organisation has worked with exporters across the country and with 717 companies within Essex since April 2012.

Business: Loans

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he expects the Government's Business Bank to begin lending money to small and medium-sized businesses.

Michael Fallon: As set out in the written ministerial statement published on 20 December 2012, Official Report,columns 122-23WS, the business bank will make wholesale finance interventions in the business finance market to facilitate the development of a greater diversity of finance sources and to tackle other long standing market gaps. There is currently no plan for the business bank to lend directly to businesses or have branches on the high street.
	However, we have also set out at autumn statement that the business bank will seek to deploy £300 million of funding over the next two years in ways that not only supports the development of new sources of finance for small and medium enterprises, but also increases finance from these sources to businesses. Further detail of how this funding will be made available will be provided at Budget 2013, following engagement with market participants.

Business: Loans

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he has taken to enable small and medium-sized businesses to derive maximum benefit from the Government's Business Bank.

Michael Fallon: As set out in the written ministerial statement of 20 December 2012, Official Report, columns 122-23WS, we have taken the following steps towards the establishment of a business bank:
	definition of its objectives—making wholesale interventions in the business finance markets to facilitate the development of a greater diversity of finance sources and to tackle long-standing market gaps; and bringing together Government finance schemes for small and midsized businesses so that they are managed as single portfolio; ensuring that businesses are aware and can access Government-backed business advice.
	establishment of an advisory group that will advise the Government on the setting up and strategic direction of the new institution, and chaired by Sir Peter Burt.
	assessment of options to deploy £300 million of funding to co-invest alongside the private sector in sources of finance that help diversify the business finance market—detail of how this funding will be made available will be provided at Budget 2013.
	Ongoing consultations of stakeholders, including businesses, business representative bodies, challenger banks, non-bank lenders, the main high street banks, financial advisory firms and financial services.

Business: Loans

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the Government's Business Bank will impose lower lending requirements than existing commercial banks.

Michael Fallon: The objectives of the business bank are to address long standing market failures affecting the provision of finance to small and mid-sized businesses. As set out in my written ministerial statement of 20 December 2012,
	Official 
	Report
	, columns 122-23WS, we are therefore considering a number of options, including capital investments and guarantees for long-term finance products, as well as a wider range of wholesale funding activities that could best address these funding gaps.
	We have not taken a view yet on what our preferred option is and detailed design of the activities will need to reflect the requirement to ensure our proposals are fully consistent with state aid rules. However, we are clear that we will not seek to subsidise, replace or compete with existing and future finance providers, but aim to ensure a greater range of providers and products become available to small and medium enterprises and mid-sized corporates.

Business: Loans

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will bring forward proposals to require commercial banks to state the specific reasons they refuse to lend to a small or medium-sized business.

Michael Fallon: The Lending Code, relevant to micro-enterprises
	http://www.lendingstandardsboard.org.uk
	and the Lending Principles for larger businesses
	http://www.bba.org.uk/publications/entry/lending-principles-for-larger-businesses/
	both set out that banks should provide loan applicants with feedback. The code states:
	“wherever practical, [lenders] will give you clear feedback when they have decided to decline (refuse) a request for credit, including what steps you might take next;”
	The Principles state:
	“we will provide you with proactive and clear feedback”
	Furthermore, where any application is declined by the major banks, a small or medium sized business has the right to appeal. Their application will then be assessed by someone independent from the initial decision. To ensure the appeals process is robust, it is overseen by the Independent Reviewer Russel Griggs, who found in its first year of operation, 40% of those decisions which were appealed were subsequently revised to the satisfaction of the small business.
	Information on the appeals process should be included in any decline, and more details can also be found at the British Bankers' Association's website at:
	http://www.betterbusinessfinance.co.uk/

Business: Loans

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to stimulate competition amongst the UK's main commercial banks to provide loans to small and medium-sized businesses.

Michael Fallon: Securing effective competition in the banking sector requires action on a number of fronts, including tackling unnecessary barriers to new entrants, overcoming the obstacles which prevent banks with competitive products from expanding their market share, and ensuring that regulatory decisions encourage competition. A number of actions are in train to address these issues.
	The Financial Services Authority (FSA) will shortly be publishing its review of the prudential and conduct requirements for new entrants to the banking sector to ensure that they are proportionate and do not pose excessive barriers to entry or expansion for new entrants to the banking market.
	On 1 April 2013, the Financial Conduct Authority (one of the two successor bodies to the FSA) will commence its work equipped with a specific duty to promote competition in financial services in the interests of consumers.
	The Government is currently considering its response to the 2011 consultation by HM Treasury—“Setting the Strategy for UK Payments”—which set out proposals for reforming the regulation and governance of payments networks to ensure that networks are responsive to the needs of all users, including new entrants and smaller banks.
	We will also working with the banks and the Payments Council to ensure successful introduction of a new account switching service in September 2013 which will make it significantly easier for personal and business customers to switch to new bank accounts.
	Alongside work to promote competition, the Government has already taken action to improve the flow of credit to small and medium-sized businesses including by working with the Bank of England to launch the Funding for Lending Scheme, by putting in place access to finance schemes such the £1.2 billion Business Finance Partnership, and by providing additional funding for the Enterprise Finance Guarantee. The Government has also announced plans to deploy an extra £1 billion to create a business bank to help develop greater diversity of non-bank finance.

Business: Regulation

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to lower the cost and time spent by small and medium-sized businesses on regulatory compliance.

Michael Fallon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 December 2012, Official Report, column 864W.

Export Credit Guarantees: Cuba

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what exports of boats and related equipment to Cuba were supported by UK Export Finance; when these exports were made; and which exports were to (a) government bodies and (b) private companies.

Michael Fallon: UK Export Finance supported one contract for the supply of a non-propelled cutter suction dredge, floating and shore pipeline equipment, one manoeuvring tugboat, six grab dredges, spare parts and workshop equipment and technical services. The exports were made in 1982 and 1983 to a government body.

Higher Education: Anti-Semitism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what information sources officials in his Department with policy responsibility for dealing with anti-Semitism in universities have access to, to ensure they are well informed about issues facing the Jewish community in higher education; what recent representations he has received on that matter from the Jewish community; and if he will make a statement. [R]

David Willetts: Policy officials have access to a range of information sources from both across Government and external partners, including published reports. I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave on 10 December 2012, Official Report, columns 30-1W.

Higher Education: Anti-Semitism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent meetings he has had with the Board of Deputies of British Jews on anti-Semitism on university campuses; what was discussed and what responses he gave; and if he will make a statement. [R]

David Willetts: I have not met the Board of Deputies for British Jews. I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave on 10 December 2012, Official Report, columns 30-1W.

HMV

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many meetings (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) his officials have had with executives at HMV and its owners since May 2010; whether the future of the firm's UK operations was discussed at these meetings; and on what dates any such meetings took place.

Jo Swinson: All Ministers' meetings with external organisations are published quarterly on the Gov.uk website which you can access using the following hyperlink:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-business-innovation-skills/series/bis-quarterly-publications-april-to-june-2012
	Information on any meetings between officials and HMV and its owners is not held centrally.

Import Duties

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect of customs tariffs and other charges applicable to goods imported into the European economic area (EEA) from businesses in states outside the EEA on businesses in the UK.

Michael Fallon: No systematic analysis has been conducted of the impact on UK businesses of tariffs and charges on imports from outside the European economic area.
	Such imports into the UK would normally be subject to the European Union's most favoured nation (MFN) tariff. Given its low average level of just over 5%, the overall impact of this would not be significant.
	The main exceptions arise where the EU has negotiated preferential trade arrangements, in which case tariffs will be lower than the MFN rate and very often zero. The UK undertakes analysis to inform our position on negotiations of preferential trading arrangements.
	Another exception is where imports into the EU are subject to additional EU anti-dumping or anti-subsidy duties. The Government judges each proposal for anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures on its merits based on an economic assessment of the case and on representations from interested parties, including UK business.

Insolvency

Khalid Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will introduce legislation to ensure that gift vouchers are honoured in the event of a company entering administration.

Jo Swinson: I have no plans to introduce such legislation at this time.
	I recognise that gift voucher/card holders of an insolvent business will be frustrated if they are not able to redeem them but those will be the same circumstances faced by all unsecured creditors of the company, who will have supplied goods and services for which they have not been paid.
	Administrators will take a view on whether to honour gift voucher/cards based on their duty to act in the interests of all creditors.

Motor Vehicles: Exports

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to support car manufacturers based in the UK to export cars to emerging markets.

Michael Fallon: Vehicles are the UK's number one manufactured export with some 80% of all vehicles produced in the UK being exported. While the EU remains the major destination of UK-built vehicles, growth in emerging markets offers great opportunity. Jaguar Land Rover has just announced that China is now their largest export market. United Kingdom Trade and Investment (UKTI) support is now being directed more towards those high growth and emerging markets. UKTI works with the Automotive Council, trade bodies and companies to identify key export business opportunities, and through its overseas network, facilitates contacts with key customers and gathers market intelligence.

Nuclear Weapons

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the implications for inward investment into UK manufacturing of the decision by the Norwegian government to take the advice from its Advisory Council on Ethics to withdraw investments made by the Norwegian State Sovereign Wealth Fund in UK companies involved in developing, producing and maintaining nuclear weapons.

Michael Fallon: The Government welcomes foreign investment into the UK including in the advanced engineering sector. In 2011/12, investment in the sector attracted more jobs than any other (17,379), 25% more than in 2010/11. It also attracted more projects than other sectors along with the software sector.
	The Norwegian Ministry of Finance established ethical guidelines for the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) in 2004. The guidelines (updated in 2009) allow the exclusion of companies from the GPFG's portfolio and set up an Independent Council of Ethics to advise the Ministry of Finance on the exclusion of companies. The decision on the criteria to exclude companies and which to exclude, or not, is one for the Norwegian Government.

Offshore Industry

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will estimate the proportion of work in the UK offshore fabrication sector that is carried out by foreign companies.

John Hayes: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
	Information we have received from companies, indicates that in the past year the overall UK content in developments including fabrication has been excess of 70%.
	On fabrication, of particular note are developments including, Cygnus, Solan, the Golden Eagle accommodation module, Britannia module and the Monarb jacket as successes being built in the UK which are currently supporting around 4,000 direct jobs in the UK fabrication sector.

Offshore Industry

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to promote UK content in North sea fabrication projects.

John Hayes: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
	The Department works closely with licensees operating in the UKCS to ensure that they are aware of the capability of the UK fabrication sector and they are afforded fair opportunities to bid for contracts under the EU procurement laws.
	In support of this in 2011 we published a catalogue showcasing the capability and capacity of UK fabricators for use by the operators.

Overseas Trade

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department takes to work with country-specific All-Party Parliamentary Groups to maximise the opportunities their delegations abroad present for UK businesses.

Michael Fallon: The Department is always willing to provide briefing to All-Party Parliamentary Groups travelling overseas where the visit meets the Department's objectives. Our embassies and high commissions also regularly provide support to parliamentarians when they are travelling overseas.

Recruitment

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many members of the Senior Civil Service his Department has recruited in each year since 2010; at what cost to the public purse that recruitment was undertaken in each such year; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: The table sets out the numbers of senior civil servants who have been recruited to core BIS (including UK Trade and Investment) since 2010.
	Over this period seven senior civil servants have been recruited in UK Trade and Investment, four in the Shareholder Executive and two in Communications to increase the levels of specialist knowledge and skills required in these areas. In addition BIS has recruited three Director Generals and a Chief Scientific Adviser.
	15 of the 17 recruits have replaced senior civil servants who left their roles on retirement, resignation, end of fixed term contract or moved to a new civil service post. The two new roles were created in UK Trade and Investment.
	
		
			 Financial year Number of senior civil servants recruited to core BIS (including UK Trade and Investment) Cost (£) (ex-VAT) 
			 2010/11 2 53,223.87 
			 2011/12 6 54,188.32 
			 2012/13 9 234,323.11 
			 Total 17 341,735.30

Recruitment

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to recruit staff to Senior Civil Service posts in the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: The chief executive of the Shareholder Executive in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has recently been selected to become the permanent secretary of the Department for Energy and Climate Change. The post requires a blend of finance and commercial skills with knowledge of Whitehall and it is likely that the Department will shortly be running an open competition to seek a replacement.
	There is no other senior civil service recruitment planned in core BIS at this time although exemptions from the recruitment freeze are made where there is a strong business case given the knowledge and skills required.

Shops: Empty Property

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what statistics his Department collects on shop vacancy rates by locality.

Michael Fallon: The Government do not collect data on vacancy rates. Commercial organisations do track these and regularly publish figures.

Trade: Commonwealth

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to promote intra-Commonwealth trade in (a) Africa, (b) the Caribbean and (c) the Asia-Pacific region.

Michael Fallon: Intra-Commonwealth trade is a matter for the authorities in the markets concerned. However, the UK Government supports moves to make trade more straightforward within a number of regions, and these cover many Commonwealth countries. Examples include the Africa Free Trade Initiative; the European Union's Economic Partnership Agreements with countries in the Caribbean, the Pacific, and five regions of Africa; and work to facilitate trade between the countries of South and South-East Asia.

UK Trade and Investment

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what UK Trade and Investment teams abroad are doing to lobby foreign governments to lower regulatory barriers faced by UK companies.

Michael Fallon: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) teams work together with the whole overseas diplomatic network, as part of a renewed focus by Government on commercial diplomacy, to lobby in the interests of UK business. All overseas teams have in place campaigns on their priorities, including, where appropriate, on lowering regulatory barriers. This campaigning approach includes using formal bilateral dialogues, such as Joint Economic Trade Committees which are organised by overseas UKTI teams.
	In addition, Government Ministers systematically lobby for UK commercial interests on all overseas visits, by leading trade delegations co-ordinated by overseas UKTI teams, and in their meetings with their counterparts in other Governments. UKTI, together with other teams in our overseas posts, uses these opportunities to lobby directly for the removal of barriers for UK companies.

UK Trade and Investment

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how UK Trade and Investment decides which company to support when multiple British companies with varying strengths of bids are competing for the same contract.

Michael Fallon: If there are multiple British companies competing for the same contract overseas, they will be treated equally by UK Trade and Investment (UKTI).
	In addition, and where appropriate, UKTI might chose to promote UK capability in a particular sector rather than placing any one UK company in a more advantageous position relative to another UK company offering similar services or goods in a market.

UK Trade and Investment

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what distinction UK Trade and Investment makes between British companies and British subsidiaries of foreign companies when they are bidding for the same contracts abroad.

Michael Fallon: British subsidiaries of foreign companies, like British companies themselves, are eligible for support from UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) when bidding for contracts overseas as long as they otherwise meet the eligibility requirement for UKTI services, which require businesses to have an active UK trading address and be able to demonstrate that any support they receive from UKTI would help them deliver economic benefit to the UK through the UK trading address.
	All UK firms will be treated equally rather than placing any one UK or UK subsidiary company in a more advantageous position relative to another offering similar services or goods in a market.

HEALTH

Airports Commission

Mary Macleod: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with the Airports Commission and Secretary of State for Transport; and if he will ensure that his Department's submission of evidence to the Airports Commission will take into account aircraft noise, air quality and any other health-related impacts of living under a flight path.

Simon Burns: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Transport as Minister for Aviation.
	My departmental ministerial colleagues and I have had no meetings with Department for Health Ministers on this issue yet. The Airports Commission is fully resourced to take account of the range of aviation impacts.

Antidepressants

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the number of anti-depressants prescribed for people aged (a) between five and 15 and (b) between 16 and 25 years old in each year for which data is available.

Norman Lamb: This information is not collected centrally.

Dementia

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average diagnosis rate for dementia was for (a) Nottingham City, (b) Nottinghamshire, (c) the East Midlands and (d) England in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Norman Lamb: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Dementia diagnosis rate 2011-12 
			  Percentage 
			 Nottingham City Primary Care Trust 57.5 
			 Nottinghamshire County Primary Care Trust 45.1 
			 East Midlands Strategic Health Authority 44.6 
			 England 45 
			 Source: Mapping the Dementia gap 2012: Alzheimer's Society

Drugs: Prisons

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 3 December 2012, Official Report, columns 666-7W, on prisons: drugs and alcoholic drinks, what the total cost of (a) maintenance-based and (b) abstinence-based drug treatment programmes was to the public purse in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 3 December 2012, Official Report, columns 666-7W, on prisons: drugs and alcoholic drinks, what estimate he has made of the number of prisoners who re-presented for treatment having previously participated in (a) maintenance-based and (b) abstinence-based drug treatment programmes in prison;
	(3)  how many prisoners serving a custodial sentence who participated in a (a) maintenance-based and (b) abstinence-based drug treatment programme in each of the last 10 years had served previous prison terms;
	(4)  how many people serving a custodial sentence participated in (a) maintenance-based and (b) abstinence-based drug treatment programme in each of the last 10 years, by length of time spent in custody by those prisoners receiving interventions.

Norman Lamb: Information is available in respect of the total cost of prison drug treatment programmes over the last 10 years. However, the data combine both abstinence-based and maintenance-based treatment costs and it is not possible to extrapolate the requested information from these totals. Available data are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Department of Health funding allocated for clinical drug treatment services in adult prisons in England between 2003-04 and 2012-13 
			 £ million 
			  2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Baseline funding(1) 11.3 11.3 11.3 11.3 11.3 11.3 11.3 11.3 11.3 11.3 
			 Funding for enhanced clinical drug treatment services(2) — — — 12.0 13.2 22.4 38.5 44.5 44.5 44.5 
			 Total 11.3 11.3 11.3 23.3 24.5 33.7 49.8 55.8 55.8 55.8 
			 (1) This was permanently transferred to primary care trusts from April 2006 following completion of the full transfer of commissioning for health care in publicly funded prisons. (2 )To support the introduction of the Integrated Drug Treatment System (IDTS) in prisons between 2006 and 2011 and the subsequent retention of IDTS principles within integrated, needs led and recovery focused substance misuse services which are being re-commissioned at a local level. Source: Department of Health and National Offender Management Service. 
		
	
	From April 2011, the Department assumed responsibility for funding all drug treatment in prisons in England. The Department is now providing £63 million to adult prisons previously allocated by the Ministry of Justice and £44.5 million from their Integrated Drug Treatment System (IDTS) budget in each of the three years of the comprehensive spending review period (2011-14).
	The transfer of funding responsibility for all drug treatment in prisons to the Department applies to prisons in England only as the Welsh Government has responsibility for health services in Wales.
	Data are collected by the National Offender Management Service on the number of clinical interventions for in-year maintenance prescriptions and the number of in-year detoxification treatments. However, individual prisoners may have had more than one treatment episode in any 12-month period so clinical interventions data do not currently allow identification of the number of individual prisoners receiving either maintenance prescriptions or detoxification treatments. We expect that, with the introduction of the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System across the prison estate in 2012-13, data on re-presentation rates will be available from 2013-14.
	Data are not collected centrally about the number of prisoners serving a custodial sentence who participated in maintenance-based or abstinence-based (detoxification) drug treatment programmes in each of the last 10 years and who had served previous prison terms.
	Data are not collected centrally either in respect of people serving a custodial sentence who participated in maintenance-based or detoxification treatment programmes in each of the last 10 years, by length of time spent in custody by those prisoners receiving interventions.

Hearing Impairment

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans he has to include measures to reduce unaddressed hearing loss in his campaign to tackle loneliness and isolation; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what plans his Department has to tackle isolation resulting from unaddressed hearing loss in (a) Blaydon constituency and (b) England.

Norman Lamb: Loneliness is a serious issue that is blighting the lives of many people across the country. As a Department, we are working with partners—including The Campaign to End Loneliness—to reduce levels of loneliness and social isolation, and to highlight the links between people's relationships and their mental and physical health and wellbeing. Initial work has focused on measuring the issue, in order to help local commissioners come up with the right targeted solutions.
	The Department has funded a digital toolkit to support Health and Wellbeing Boards and local commissioners in understanding, mapping and commissioning for loneliness and social isolation in their communities. This was launched in July 2012, and can be found at:
	http://campaigntoendloneliness.org/toolkit/
	The toolkit highlights sensory impairment as a risk factor that can lead to somebody becoming lonely or socially isolated.
	The Government wants to deliver health outcomes that are among the best in the world for people with hearing loss. We are working with voluntary sector groups and other partners to see if it is possible to identify any further practical steps to address a number of issues that affect people with both addressed and unaddressed hearing loss.

Mental Health Services: Young People

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on the treatment of mental illness in children and young people in each of the last 10 years.

Norman Lamb: Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) are complex, ranging from universal provision to highly specialised services and are funded by both the national health service and local authorities. It is the responsibility of local commissioners to make commissioning decisions to meet the healthcare needs of the people in the areas they cover. The identified amount spent on CAMHS in England by the NHS was as follows.
	
		
			 Programme budgeting category—total expenditure on CAMHS 
			  Gross expenditure (£000) 
			 2006-07 716,726 
			 2007-08 736,353 
			 2008-09 687,097 
			 2009-10 772,114 
			 2010-11 755,807 
		
	
	Information was not collected separately before 2006-07 and figures for 2011-12 are not yet available. These figures do not include spending by non-NHS bodies such as local authorities or schools. Neither do they include data on treatment provided outside CAMHS, for example by general practitioners or by substance abuse units.

Mental Health: Children

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the potential contribution of mindfulness therapies to the improvement of children's mental health and well-being.

Norman Lamb: Child mental health is a priority for this Government. Half of those with lifelong mental illness first experience symptoms by the age of 14. For this reason we have invested around £54 million over the four years from 2011-12 until 2014-15 in the Children and Young People's Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) project, which aims to embed National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) approved best-evidence-based therapies and a strengthened focus on improving mental health outcomes across Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).
	Decisions about the therapy training offered were based on best evidence NICE and the prevalence of emotional and mental health problems.
	In years one and two, training is in CBT and Parenting for three tot 10-year-olds with conduct disorder.
	In year two, training will also be offered in Systemic Family Therapy and Interpersonal Therapy.
	These therapies cover the majority of mental disorders experienced by children. However, in addition to the therapies chosen by Children and Young People's IAPT, there are also other evidence-based treatments and approaches that contribute to a comprehensive CAMHS. Commissioners and services will want to see these available to children and young people.

Mental Illness: Young People

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) number and (b) proportion is of people aged (i) between five and 15 and (ii) between 16 and 24 years old who have one or more psychiatric conditions in each year for which data is available.

Norman Lamb: This information is not collected centrally. However, two surveys carried out on behalf of the Department and the Welsh and Scottish Governments by the Office for National Statistics in 1999 and 2004 found the prevalence of mental health disorders in children aged five to 16 in Great Britain to be 9.5% in 1999 and 9.6% in 2004. The surveys were published as ‘Mental health of children and adolescents in Great Britain’ (ONS 2000) and ‘Mental health of children and young people in Great Britain, 2004’ (ONS 2005). Copies of both have already been placed in the Library.
	For adults (aged 16 years and over) there have been three Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Surveys in 1993, 2000 and 2007. The most recent, based on a survey by the National Centre for Social Research and the University of Leicester, was published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre in 2009. This was based on answers to a survey rather than on existing diagnoses. It contains separate chapters on common mental disorders and specific disorders. A copy of this report, ‘Adult psychiatric morbidity in England, 2007—Results of a household survey’ has already been placed in the Library.

Roaccutane

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has made any comparative assessment of the safety assessments made by the (a) US and (b) EU authorities in respect of the drug Roaccutane; and what representations he has received on its availability for prescription in the UK.

Norman Lamb: As for all medicines on the United Kingdom market, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) keeps the safety of Roaccutane and all medicines containing isotretinoin under continuous review. As the reference member state for Roaccutane, the MHRA leads the European safety assessment, in which the views of EU authorities are included.
	Although no direct comparison with US safety assessments of Roaccutane has been undertaken, the marketing authorisation holders for isotretinoin-containing medicines are required to submit all worldwide safety data including adverse reactions suspected to be associated with isotretinoin, published literature and studies, and to keep MHRA informed of any safety decisions made in other countries.
	In the UK, Roaccutane and other isotretinoin-containing medicines are only available on prescription from a doctor and the licensing terms mean that isotretinoin can only be prescribed by or under the supervision of a consultant dermatologist. This information has been communicated to healthcare professionals by the MHRA and is reflected in the clinical guidelines issued by the British Association of Dermatologists.
	A search of the Department's ministerial correspondence database has not identified any correspondence or parliamentary questions received since 1 May 2012, about the availability of Roaccutane for prescription in the UK. This is a minimum figure, which represents correspondence received by the Department's ministerial correspondence unit only.

Translation Services

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the annual cost to his Department is of providing language interpretation services for patients.

Norman Lamb: This information is not collected centrally.

Travel

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on all ministerial transport since May 2010.

Daniel Poulter: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, spend on Ministers' car travel, provided by the Government Car Service, is published annually by written ministerial statement and Ministers' overseas travel costs are published quarterly in arrears on the Department's website.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Biocidal Products: EU Law

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to seek a derogation from the European Biocidal Directive 1998.

Mark Hoban: The biocidal products directive 98/8/EC, a single market directive which has been implemented in the UK through the Biocidal Products Regulations 2001 and Biocidal Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 allows member states to seek derogations from individual European Commission decisions not to approve active substances, where an active substance is essential in that member state and there are no technically or economically feasible alternatives. Currently the Health and Safety Executive is working with the UK businesses concerned to prepare an application for a derogation in respect of copper-based water treatment systems used to control legionella.
	While member states can apply for a derogation from a “non-inclusion decision” under the directive, it is not possible for the UK to obtain a derogation from the biocidal products directive 98/8/EC itself.

Employment and Support Allowance

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people living abroad received employment and support allowance in each of the last four years; and what the total amount paid to such claimants was in each year.

Mark Hoban: Expenditure and caseloads of claimants living abroad receiving employment and support allowance in each of the last four years are shown in the table.
	People living within the European economic area who receive incapacity benefit, and satisfy eligibility criteria, are currently being migrated onto contribution-based employment and support allowance. Migration began in 2011 and this is reflected in the increase in claimants in 2010-11 and 2011-12.
	
		
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Expenditure nominal (£ million) 0.02 0.49 1.09 2.62 
			 Expenditure real terms—2012-13 prices (£ million) 0.03 0.53 1.15 2.69 
			 Caseload (Thousand) 0.05 0.25 0.43 1.19 
			 1. Figures may include caseloads and an amount of expenditure where the claimant's residence is unknown. 2. Caseloads reflect data as at the end February in each year. 3. Expenditure data can be found in our published tables via the following link: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/index.php?page=expenditure Source: DWP Statistical and Accounting Data.

Employment and Support Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cash terms level of the basic allowance element of employment and support allowance for those in the support group for (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

Steve Webb: The Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill will increase the main rates of employment and support allowance in 2014-15 and 2015-16 to the following provisional levels:
	
		
			 Employment and support allowance 
			 £ 
			  2014-15 2015-16 
			 Personal allowances   
			 Single   
			 Under 25 57.35 .57.90 
			 25 or over 72.40 73.10 
			 Lone parent (18 or over) 72.40 73.10 
			 Couple both over 18 113.70 114.85

Housing Benefit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to take account of rent affordability in areas in determining which areas to exempt from the cap of one per cent on the uprating of local housing allowance.

Steve Webb: The Government has set aside £140 million over two years to help people most affected by the 1% cap on local housing allowance uprating in 2014-15 and 2015-16.
	Our intention is that this funding will be used to increase the local housing allowance rates in areas where rent increases are causing a shortage of affordable accommodation. We do not know yet which areas will see the largest problems with affordability but will consider the available evidence, including rental data collected by the rent officer to decide how it is targeted.
	We are currently considering the detailed policy design and will make further information available in due course.

Housing Benefit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to (a) review the effect of changes to the uprating methodology and (b) re-baseline local housing allowance rates in 2015-16.

Steve Webb: Rent officers will publish annually both the new local housing allowance (LHA) rates and the 30th percentile of market rents so a comparison between the two can be made. This will provide transparency to the public and Parliament, enabling the monitoring of any divergences in each broad rental market area, allowing the Government to make flexible decisions about the impacts of the policy as the information becomes available.
	The Government is committed to making savings from this measure until 2015-16. Subsequently it has the opportunity to reconsider the policy design, in light of the relationship between LHA rates and local rents.

Natural Gas: Storage

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the Health and Safety Executive plans to require Storengy to put in place (a) indemnifications, (b) parental guarantees and (c) insurance sufficient to compensate victims and restore the environment in the event of an accident caused by a gas leak at the proposed Stublach Gas Storage Project.

Mark Hoban: No. If there were to be an accident in this context, the same arrangements for employers' liability would apply as at any other site.

Natural Gas: Storage

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the method used by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was to assess the risk to miners working in the Winsford Rock Salt Mine of a gas explosion in the proposed new Stublach gas storage facility; and what assessment was made by the HSE of the level of risk at that facility.

Mark Hoban: The method used by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) consists of two stages. Storengy has submitted a pre-construction safety report. The purpose of this report is to identify the risk associated with the facility at the design stage when they can be most easily addressed. HSE has considered the pre-construction safety report and concluded Storengy has made the necessary safety demonstrations at this stage.
	HSE is now currently reviewing the pre-operational safety report. This requires a more detailed demonstration of how the risks will be adequately controlled when the facility is operating. HSE is satisfied that it has used, intends to continue to use, appropriate external expertise to supplement its own experts when necessary.

Recruitment

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what steps his Department takes to monitor whether employers are meeting the terms and conditions which must be met to advertise with Universal Jobmatch;
	(2)  what recent assessment his Department has made of the terms and conditions to which employers must agree before they can advertise with Universal Jobmatch.

Mark Hoban: Monitoring tools have been built into the Universal Jobmatch service which help to detect, deter and remedy inappropriate use of the site. In addition to this, employers are obliged to sign up to detailed terms and conditions, agreeing that the jobs they advertise on the Universal Jobmatch service are available to jobseekers on an open and fair basis; and that all vacancies comply with employment-related legislation including the Equality Act 2010, health and safety legislation and working time regulations. Where there is evidence that employers have breached the terms and conditions, the appropriate action is taken.
	As this service was only recently launched, it is too early to make as assessment of the terms and conditions.

Remploy

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has recently had discussions with (a) the Secretary of State for Health and (b) disability organisations on his duty of care towards disabled workers made redundant by the closure of Remploy factories.

Esther McVey: I have not yet met the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), for discussions about issues arising from Remploy closures, but my officials have been liaising with their counterparts in his Department. I have engaged with a range of disability organisations on our shared interest in the health of disabled people who have left Remploy. Remploy also has a duty of care towards its employees who have been issued with notice of redundancy, which it delivers through its transitional advisers and individual consultation interviews
	While there are important health issues within the broader duty of care for some people who leave Remploy, for most health is not a factor affecting their return to work. To facilitate this, all disabled former employees of Remploy can benefit from the tailored support offered by DWP as part of the People Help and Support Package. This includes help from a personal case worker, access to a personal budget and support from the Community Support Fund. Community Support Fund activities can help Remploy's disabled ex-employees to maintain contact with former colleagues and build new friendships within their community, both of which can benefit their mental health.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of excluding from the benefit cap (a) support housing costs, (b) discretionary housing payments and (c) other housing support; and for what reasons he has made each such assessment.

Steve Webb: The estimated reduction in savings from excluding help towards housing costs for those living in supported exempt accommodations costs from the total benefit cap are £10 million per year. This estimate was calculated in a consistent way to savings estimated in the impact assessment:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/benefit-cap-wr2011-ia.pdf
	Discretionary housing payments can provide further financial assistance to claimants receiving housing benefit or council tax benefits when a local authority considers that additional help with housing costs is required. There has never been an intention that these payments should be included in the benefit cap. The Government is providing additional funding of up to £65 million in 2013-14 and £35 million in 2014-15 to help people who may be affected by the benefit cap.
	We are not excluding from the benefit cap any other housing support for people of working age provided through housing benefit, or in future universal credit.

State Retirement Pensions

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of what the difference in 2017 will be between the basic pension weekly payment paid to a person who has paid 35 years of national insurance contributions and is currently retired and a person who will retire in 2017 in identical circumstances.

Steve Webb: State pension payments under the single-tier pension compared to state pension payments for current pensioners will depend on the individual circumstances. In the year of implementation we estimate that 75% of individuals reaching state pension age will see no change compared to what they would have received under the current system.
	The following are illustrations of how state pension payments could differ for typical individuals retiring in 2012-13 and a similar individual retiring in 2017-18 (based on the White Paper illustrations of a starting value of £144 and assuming an April 2017 start date):
	An individual reaching state pension age in 2017-18 with 35 qualifying years who was contracted out all their working life could receive a single-tier pension of £107. An identical individual reaching state pension age in 2012-13 would also have received £107.
	An individual reaching state pension age in 2017-18 with 35 qualifying years with a typical net additional pension of £20 could receive a single-tier pension of £127. An identical individual reaching state pension age in 2012-13 would also have received £127.
	An individual reaching state pension age in 2017-18 with 35 qualifying years who was self-employed all their working life could receive a full single-tier pension of £144. An identical individual reaching state pension age in 2012-13 would have received £107 because in the current system self-employed individuals can not accrue additional pension.
	An individual reaching state pension age in 2017-18 with 35 qualifying years with a high net additional pension amount of £90 could receive a single-tier pension of £197 because their accruals under the current system are protected. An identical individual reaching state pension age in 2012-13 would also have received £197.
	These illustrations use net state pension amounts which do not include additional pension rights accrued in private pension schemes during periods of contracting out. They do not include income from means tested benefits.
	Amounts are rounded to the nearest £1 and are in 2012-13 earning terms.

State Retirement Pensions

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of people who retire in the first five years after the introduction of the new pension system who will be on average (a) better off and (b) worse off; and by how much they will be respectively better off or worse off.

Steve Webb: The single-tier reforms have been designed to cost no more than the current system overall. As such, they result in some future pensioners receiving slightly more income in retirement than if the existing system continued and others receiving slightly less.
	The Department's modelling suggests that in 2020:
	(a) Around 70% will receive notionally higher incomes under the single-tier compared to if the current system continued. The median gain would be around £3 per week (in 2012-13 earnings terms).
	(b) Around 25% will receive notionally lower incomes under the single-tier compared to if the current system continued. The median loss would be around £2 per week (in 2012-13 earnings terms).
	These estimates are based on overall benefit unit income including income from means-tested benefits. Estimates are based on pensioner benefit units in 2020 where someone reaches state pension age after single-tier implementation.
	Figures exclude the impact of the minimum qualifying period, deferrals policy and the impacts on overseas pensioners, as explained in the Impact Assessment which can be found at:
	http://dwp.gov.uk/docs/single-tier-pension-impact-assessment.pdf
	Estimates are based on Great Britain only.
	Source:
	DWP modelling based on PENSIM2

State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the likely net cost of paying the annual increase in the state pension from April 2013 to those who are excluded from such indexation arrangements; what the Government's future policy on that issue is; if he will meet a delegation from the International Consortium of British Pensioners and the National Pensioners Convention in 2013 to discuss that matter; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: If UK state pensions were to be fully unfrozen and were to be paid at the rate they would have been had the individuals concerned remained in the UK, the estimated extra cost would be £695 million in 2013-14. The estimate does not include the increased expenditure which would result were arrears to be paid, reflecting increases in individuals' state pension entitlement in previous years that were not awarded due to freezing regulations.
	The estimated cost is for the 2013-14 tax year only. Costs would be expected to increase in subsequent years.
	Source
	DWP estimates based on 5% sample administrative data for 30 September 2011
	As there are no plans to change the current arrangements for the payment of UK state pension overseas, there are no plans to meet delegates from the International Consortium of British Pensioners and the National Pensioners Convention to discuss this matter.
	Ministers have however met both organisations since 2010, and the NPC regularly attend the UK Advisory Forum on Ageing, where issues affecting older people are discussed.
	Notes
	1. The figure has been rounded to the nearest £1 million.
	2. “State Pension” comprises basic state pension, graduated retirement benefit, state earnings related pension scheme, and state second pension. It includes inherited amounts, and additional amounts received due to individuals having deferred claiming their state pension.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 10 January 2013, Official Report, columns 458-59W, on universal credit, what factors he will take into account in assessing whether there is a risk to the Exchequer of paying universal credit without making further checks with the claimant.

Mark Hoban: Universal credit (UC) will use a risk-based approach to payment based on the risk of each change, how safe the source of any information is and what we know about the claimant themselves. For any transaction UC will determine if further checks are needed i.e. UC will determine if verification of data is required, verify the data accordingly and acquire appropriate evidence.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 14 January 2013, Official Report , columns 471-2W, on universal credit, whether he expects new claimants to take their identity verification documents to their local jobcentre, or whether they will be inspected by his Department in some other way; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: In the early stages of the introduction of universal credit (UC) the Department expects to look at the identity verification documents for all new claimants. These claimants will be unemployed and therefore required to visit Jobcentres to get help to find work. They will be asked to bring their identity verification documents to that interview.

Universal Credit: Wales

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the universal credit pilots began in Wales; and whether he will publish the conclusions of these pilots.

Mark Hoban: Six local authority and housing association partnerships are helping the Government trial the direct payment of housing costs to tenants ahead of the launch of universal credit in 2013. As well as running in Torfaen, the projects are also running in Edinburgh, Oxford, Wakefield, Southwark and Shropshire from June 2012 to June 2013.
	A review of the projects, led by Professor Paul Hickman from the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR) at Sheffield Hallam University, will evaluate the impact of direct payments on tenants and vulnerable groups, as well as local authorities and social rented sector landlords. An interim evaluation report will be published by CRESR in spring with the final evaluation report of the projects published in autumn.